Repairs Begin on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Power Lines After Local Ceasefire Zone Established

Officials said on Saturday that repairs have begun on damaged off-site power lines at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, following a four-week halt.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed that work resumed after the creation of a local ceasefire zone, allowing maintenance crews to safely proceed.

Although the plant is not currently generating electricity, it still requires a steady power supply to cool the reactors and prevent a meltdown.

Grossi wrote on social media platform X, “Restoring off-site power is essential for nuclear safety and security. Both sides cooperated with the IAEA to advance a complex repair plan.”

Both the Ukrainian Energy Ministry and the plant’s Russian-appointed management confirmed that maintenance operations were underway.

The Zaporizhzhia plant — Europe’s largest, with six reactors — was seized by Russian forces in the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Kyiv and Moscow have repeatedly accused each other of attacks that risk compromising nuclear safety. The facility, located near the city of Enerhodar on the Dnieper River, lies close to the front line.

During more than three and a half years of war, the plant has been frequently disconnected from the power grid, though the latest outage was among the longest recorded.

Ukraine’s Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynychuk said reconnecting the plant to the Ukrainian grid and ensuring its stable operation under Ukrainian experts is “crucial to preventing a nuclear incident.”

The plant’s Russian-installed management stated that Russia’s Defense Ministry would play a key role in ensuring the safety of the repair crews.