Operations at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant have been "completely stopped" as a safety measure, Enerhoatom, the Ukrainian state agency in charge of the plant, announced on September 11.
It said the only operational reactor had been disconnected from the grid earlier in the morning, adding work was under way "for its cooling and transfer to a cold state."
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On September 7, Ukrainian authorities urged residents in areas around the plant controlled by invading Russian forces to evacuate for their own safety.
Fighting around the plant, Europe's largest nuclear station, has raised fears of a potential nuclear disaster.
Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to recapture the plant by force, allegations Kyiv denies.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of deploying heavy weaponry at the site, knowing Ukraine likely would not fire on it. Moscow denies those allegations but has resisted efforts to demilitarize the area in order to avert an environmental catastrophe.
Enerhoatom said on September 11 that it restored to operational capacity a communications line to the power system, which it said had been damaged by Russian shelling, allowing the plant to be powered by Ukraine's energy system.
"Therefore, a decision was made to shut down power unit No. 6 and transfer it to the safest state: cold shutdown," it said.
Enerhoatom said the risk of further damage to the line "remains high," which would force the plant to be "powered by diesel generators, the duration of which is limited by the technological resource and the amount of available diesel fuel."
A day earlier on September 10, the UN nuclear safety agency, which has monitors at the plant, said the situation at the nuclear power plant was growing "increasingly unstable."
SEE ALSO: UN's Nuclear Watchdog Reports Blackout In Ukrainian Town Near Zaporizhzhya PlantThe facility no longer has an external power supply to cool reactor cores and nuclear waste after shelling destroyed an electricity substation in the nearby town of Enerhodar, said observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in Vienna, reiterating his demand for an immediate end to hostilities and for the imposition of a demilitarized zone around the power station to prevent a nuclear disaster.
Meanwhile, Petro Kotin, the head of Enerhoatom, told the AFP news agency on September 10 that Russian forces had tortured staff at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power station and that at least two people had been killed.
"Two people were beaten to death. We do not know where about 10 people are now, they were taken (by the Russians) and after that we have no information about their whereabouts," he said.