Repairs to damaged power line begin at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant
18 January 12:12
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, announced the start of repairs on one of the lines supplying the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. His message is posted on the IAEA’s account on social network X, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Critically important repair work has begun on the key 330 kV Ferrosplavna-1 backup power line connecting the Zaporizhzhya NPP to Ukraine’s power grid … with the mediation of the IAEA,” Grossi said.
On January 16, the IAEA announced that it had reached an agreement with Russia and Ukraine on the introduction of a local ceasefire for the repair of the ZNPP backup power line. A group of agency representatives flew from Vienna to observe the repair work.
On January 3, Ferrosplavna-1 was shut down, and the ZNPP was powered by the only working line, Dniprovska. The station noted that all NPP units had been shut down and were in a “cold shutdown” state.
The situation at the ZNPP
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Since then, Moscow has repeatedly attempted to legitimize its control over the facility, openly ignoring international law.
Experts view Rostekhnadzor’s latest actions as yet another manifestation of nuclear blackmail, posing a serious threat not only to the region but also to global security.
At the same time, the US has proposed a model of joint management of the ZNPP involving Ukraine, Russia, and the United States, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called this format unfair.
