By Chantal Da Silva and Yuliya Talmazan -
NBC News
The Ukrainian nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, the largest in Europe and currently under Russian control, suffered a "total disconnection" from the electricity grid for the first time in its history after intense bombing in the area, Ukrainian authorities reported.
Both Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for recent attacks around the plant, which prompted the international community to call for a demilitarized zone to be created around the site.
Ukraine had recently said that Russia planned to take the plant offline to try to divert it to the Russian power grid.
A Russian soldier patrols Zaporizhzhia on May 1, 2022. Getty Images
The last two power units in Zaporizhzhia that were still in operation were switched off on Thursday after shelling sparked a fire near the site, Ukraine's energy company Energoatom reported.
"The invaders' actions caused the complete disconnection of the ZNPP for the first time in history," the agency said.
[Follow our coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine]
The fires broke out in the ash pits of a coal plant near the nuclear plant, the company said.
Security systems were working normally and Ukrainian authorities said they were trying to restore the connection to the power grid.
Russia said its specialists were restoring power after "an emergency shutdown."
Fears of nuclear disaster rise after attack in Ukraine
Aug. 12, 202200:36
The south of Ukraine relies heavily on electricity generation in Zaporizhzhia to supply its supply network, but the plant also needs to be connected to the electricity grid for optimal operation of the reactor cooling systems, the failure of which could cause a nuclear catastrophe.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, said Thursday that he hopes to send a mission to the plant within "days."
Putin orders to increase the size of the Army
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Thursday to enlist 137,000 soldiers and thus increase the armed forces by 10%, after six months of war in Ukraine.
That would bring the total number of the Russian military to just over 2 million.
[Russian Bombing Causes Massacre on Ukraine's Independence Day]
The order will take effect on January 1, 2023, according to a copy of the document available on the Kremlin website.
The Russian authorities did not offer any further explanation as to the reason for the measure, which also includes the provision of funds to increase the size of the armed forces.
Putin had already increased the size of the Army in 2017, when an executive order established that there should be 1.9 million troops, of which one million were combat personnel.
Russian attack kills 22 people in Ukraine on its independence day.
It's been six months of war
Aug. 25, 202200:25
The decree comes a day after Putin's defense chief acknowledged that the Russian military campaign in Ukraine has stalled.
While experts warn that Russian troops are demoralized and few in number.
After six months of fighting, Russian troops failed to capture the Ukrainian capital, kyiv.
However, they now control swathes of the country's south and east, the latter known as the Donbas region, where Russia has concentrated its offensive for the past three months.