Repair work has started on damaged off-site power lines to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following a four-week outage, officials said on Saturday,
Reuters reports.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the work began after local ceasefire zones were established to allow for the repairs to proceed.
The plant currently produces no electricity, but needs power to ensure fuel in the reactors remains cool and no meltdown occurs.
"Restoration of off-site power is crucial for nuclear safety and security. Both sides engaged constructively with the IAEA to enable a complex repair plan to proceed," Grossi said in a post on social media platform X.
Both the Ukrainian energy ministry and the Russian-appointed management of the plant confirmed the maintenance works.
The Zaporizhzhia plant - Europe's largest, with six reactors - was seized by Russian troops in the first weeks of Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Both Kyiv and Moscow regularly accuse each other of attacks that endanger nuclear safety. Located near the city of Enerhodar along the Dnipro river, the power plant is close to the front line.
