IAEA initiates temporary ceasefire zone near Zaporizhzhia NPP to repair power line

The International Atomic Energy Agency has launched consultations on establishing a temporary ceasefire zone near the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to carry out repair work on a damaged backup power transmission line.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said this in a statement, Ukrinform reports.

"The IAEA has initiated consultations to establish a temporary ceasefire zone in the area where Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) last remaining back-up 330 kV line was damaged and disconnected as a result of military activity on 2 January, leaving the plant entirely dependent on its sole functioning 750 kV line," the statement said.

The proposal requires Russia and Ukraine to agree to a temporary ceasefire zone in an area approximately 10 km from the open switchyard of the 330 kV line of the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant, "to enable Ukrainian technicians to safely perform the necessary repairs."

Read also: Zelensky: Issues of territories and ZNPP to be discussed with US delegation during Paris negotiations

Grossi recalled that at the end of December, repair work had already been successfully carried out through IAEA mediation within the framework of a localized ceasefire.

As Ukrinform reported, on the night of January 3, due to hostilities, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, temporarily seized by Russian forces, lost power from one of its high-voltage lines.