Repair work has begun on the last remaining backup power line connecting Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to the national grid, under a localized ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the agency said. The work is being carried out by a Ukrainian team while an IAEA team monitors progress on the ground.
ZNPP, located near the city of Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine, is Europe’s largest nuclear power station. It supplies roughly a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity under normal conditions.
Since March 2022, the plant has been under Russian occupation, with Russian forces placing military equipment and personnel in and around the site, drawing repeated warnings about nuclear safety risks.
Power line damaged in early January
IAEA said the 330 kV line was damaged and disconnected on 2 January due to military activity, leaving it reliant on its sole functioning 750 kV main power line.
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said this is the fourth temporary ceasefire the agency has brokered to allow repairs at ZNPP.
Amid intensified strikes on energy infrastructure
This comes as Russia carried out multiple strikes across Ukraine targeting energy infrastructure in the past week, further stressing the country's power grid and increasing risks to nuclear facilities.
Ukraine has warned that Russia is planning strikes on substations serving Ukrainian nuclear power plants, demanding IAEA action.
