The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi (not seen), visits Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Russian-controlled Energodar, on March 29, 2023.
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Russia and Ukraine agreed to a local ceasefire to allow for repairs of the backup power lines to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a short statement on Friday that a truce had taken effect in southern Ukraine to enable the restoration of the 330-kilovolt supply line to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
“Demining activities are ongoing to ensure safe access for the repair teams,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on social media.
The local ceasefire, which the IAEA said it had helped to secure, comes shortly after the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russian forces have controlled the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant since the first few weeks of the invasion.
Situated in the southeast of the country, the plant is Ukraine’s largest and houses six of its 15 operational nuclear power reactors. It has recently been reliant on external power to sustain all essential nuclear safety functions.
Both sides have accused each other of raising the risk of a catastrophic accident by staging attacks near to the plant.
Russian nuclear power company Rosatom said on Friday that IAEA specialists located at the power plant were monitoring repairs to disconnected power line, according to state news outlet RIA Novosti.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry had not responded to CNBC’s request for comment as this article went live.
View of Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant from right bank of Dnipro river. At the moment the left bank of the Dnipro River is occupied by Russian forces including the nuclear plant.
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Earlier this month, the IAEA warned the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was operating on its last remaining power line, reportedly as a result of military activity near the switchyard operated by the Zaporizhzhia thermal power plant.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank said Tuesday that the fifth year of Russia’s war hadn’t started well for President Vladimir Putin, noting Ukrainian forces have recently made the most significant gains on the battlefield since the country’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast in August 2024.