A localized ceasefire facilitated by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) came into effect on Friday around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, which is currently under Russian military control.
The agreement paves the way for urgent repairs to the plant’s main external power infrastructure. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi announced that technical teams from both Russia and Ukraine will begin clearing mines and repairing the 750-kilovolt (kV) Dniprovska power line, which has been disconnected for over two months.
The ZNPP, Europe’s largest nuclear power facility, has been operating with only a single 330 kV backup power line to sustain reactor cooling systems. Repeated disruptions to this remaining connection have forced the plant to depend on emergency diesel generators to cool its six shut-down reactors, raising significant safety concerns.
The IAEA stated that this is the sixth temporary ceasefire Grossi has negotiated with the parties since late last year to help secure off-site power. The agency noted that the repair operation is particularly risky because the damaged high-voltage pylons are located across the Dnipro River, directly along the current front line.
According to Grossi, both Ukraine and Russia participated in weeks of sensitive and complex negotiations to secure the agreement. He reiterated the agency’s commitment to preventing a nuclear accident, warning that such an incident would serve no one’s interests and would only deepen the humanitarian consequences of the ongoing war.