The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant remains in a “highly precarious” position following Russia’s “largest attack” of the war on 8 November.
The IAEA is trying to broker a temporary ceasefire to allow engineers to conduct urgent repairs at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Since Vladimir Putin’s launched his full-scale war in Ukraine for the past two years the nuclear power plant has been attacked by Russia and led to the loss of power.
The director general of the IAEA Rafeal Grossi said, “Immediately after the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost all off-site power on Sept. 23, we began working closely with both the Russian Federation and Ukraine to enable the repairs of both power lines, which are indispensable for being able to maintain nuclear safety and security at the site during this devastating war.”
“It is a good day for nuclear safety and security, although the overall situation remains highly precarious,” he added.
But, despite there being a second power line connected, a risk remains of a potential nuclear disaster as Russian troops are still occupying Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Oleksandr Kharchenko, managing director of the Energy Industry Research Center, told the Kyiv Independent.
Kharchenko added, “The second power line has no major influence on nuclear safety, as the plant is still occupied and the Ukrainian side has no access to restore normal operations and services.”
However, on Sunday the nuclear plant regained access to backup power for the first time in six months, according to the IAEA.
Grossi said, “As the damaged sections of the power lines were located in an active combat zone, this required complex negotiations with both sides to establish carefully coordinated temporary truce arrangements so that their technicians could work without risking their own lives.
“It took several weeks to get to this point, with the plant once again having access to two power lines.”
