A localized ceasefire arranged by the International Atomic Energy Agency took effect Thursday morning in Ukraine, clearing the way for repairs to war-damaged equipment that feeds power to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi negotiated the temporary truce to help prevent a nuclear accident. It is the eighth the agency has brokered during the conflict, according to a post on X.
Crews will work on a 330-kilovolt switchyard close to the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant. Military activity damaged the switchyard.
Restoring it should reinforce the nuclear plant’s link to Ferosplavna-1, its only remaining external power line, and reduce the chance the facility again loses off-site power, the IAEA said.
The agency said that grid connection has become more critical. Fuel reserves for the plant’s emergency diesel generators have run low in recent months, weakening its last safeguard against a complete station blackout.
Demining must come first. The repairs are then expected to take several days on the front line, with an IAEA team on the ground monitoring the work.
Grossi credited Russia and Ukraine with engaging constructively with the agency to make the ceasefire possible. In his view, the result shows that persistent diplomacy can deliver concrete gains for both sides, even in the most difficult circumstances.
The IAEA will keep working to safeguard nuclear safety and security throughout the conflict, Grossi said.
