The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Friday that repairs to a key power line connecting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine to the external electricity grid have been completed, but warned the facility still faces serious nuclear safety risks.
The UN nuclear watchdog said the technically complex work, carried out under an IAEA-mediated localized ceasefire following extensive de-mining, was aimed at strengthening the plant's access to off-site power and reducing the risk of a nuclear accident
However, the IAEA said the repaired 750-kilovolt Dniprovska power line, disconnected since March, has not yet returned to service because its connecting substation, located more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) northwest of the plant, sustained extensive damage.
"Repeated damage to the electrical infrastructure on which nuclear power plants depend continues to create serious nuclear safety and security risks," IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
"I once again call for maximum military restraint around all nuclear facilities and the power infrastructure they require," he added.
Grossi described the localized ceasefire as the most challenging of six temporary ceasefires brokered by the IAEA since late last year.
"It required several months of delicate negotiations, followed by mine clearance and repairs on high pylons across the Dnipro River," he said, adding that both Ukraine and Russia enabled the repairs to proceed.
"This demonstrates that concrete progress remains possible, even during a large-scale war," Grossi said.
IAEA teams monitored the work under challenging conditions, including nearby drone activity.
Europe's largest nuclear power plant has been under Russian control since March 2022, while IAEA experts have remained stationed at the site since September of that year amid persistent concerns over nuclear safety.
.jpg)
.jpg.jpeg)