A localized ceasefire has come into effect at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant following mediation by the IAEA. It is intended to allow repairs to a war-damaged high-voltage power line and reduce the risk of a nuclear accident.
This was reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The ceasefire is intended to enable critical repair work on the 750 kV Dniprovska power line, which was damaged as a result of hostilities.
According to the agency, following extensive demining of the area, specialists from both sides are expected to begin restoring the damaged infrastructure in the coming days. The work will be monitored by IAEA experts.
The Dniprovska power line has been disconnected for more than two months. As a result, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is entirely dependent on a single 330 kV backup power line that supplies electricity to the cooling systems of its six shut-down reactors.
In recent weeks, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has repeatedly lost power from that line as well, forcing the facility to switch to emergency diesel generators.
The IAEA noted that this is already the sixth temporary ceasefire negotiated by the agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi between Russia and Ukraine since late last year to ensure nuclear safety and stable external power supply to the plant.
This time, the repair work is complicated by the fact that the damage is located on high-voltage pylons near the line of control across the Dnipro River.
