Ukrainian intelligence says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant's cooling pond keeps falling, diesel stocks minimal

Ukraine's military intelligence service (HUR) says the situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains difficult, citing shortages of water, fuel and qualified staff. All six reactor units are in "cold shutdown" and produce no electricity, HUR said in a statement on Telegram on 20 October. The claims come from a Ukrainian intelligence agency and could not be independently verified.

Falling water level

According to HUR, the water level in the plant's cooling pond was 12.27 metres on 12 October 2026, down from 12.34 metres at the start of the month. The agency gave this earlier sequence of readings:

• July: 12.86 metres
• Early August: 12.63 metres
• Late August: 12.55 metres

HUR described the trend as "discouraging". It said a level of 15 metres is considered the minimum needed to fully meet the station's requirements. The statement did not say what the plant is able to do at lower levels or how HUR obtained the measurements.

Backup diesel generators

HUR said that in a full loss of external power, the plant would have to rely on diesel generators. During a prolonged blackout they would burn about 150 tonnes of fuel a day, the agency said.

HUR claims the Russian occupation administration cannot supply the station with diesel, so existing stocks are minimal. It added that running the generators would put further strain on fuel supplies in the occupied territories, which it described as already difficult.

As a result, HUR said, the occupiers are considering reducing the number of backup generators kept on automatic standby. The agency said this would inevitably raise the risk of an accident. It did not say whether a decision has been taken.

HUR also cited a shortage of qualified personnel at the station but gave no figures or details in the post. Russian officials did not respond in the material reviewed, and the Russian side's position on these claims is not known.

Background

The Zaporizhzhia plant, in the town of Enerhodar in southern Ukraine on the Dnipro river, is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, with six reactors. Russian forces seized it in March 2022, early in the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian staff have continued to work there under Russian control. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, has had experts stationed at the site and has repeatedly warned about threats to its external power supply and nuclear safety.

The cooling pond holds water for cooling systems. It became more important after the Kakhovka dam, downstream on the Dnipro, was destroyed in June 2023 and the reservoir that had fed the plant drained. Even shut-down reactors need cooling and electrical power to remove residual heat from the fuel, which is why backup power and water supplies matter.

RealUA has not previously covered the plant's cooling or fuel situation, and no independent measurements of the pond level or fuel stocks were available for this report.