Work to repair the main 750 kilovolt (kV) Dniprovska power line supplying the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) began today under a localized ceasefire brokered by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), marking an important step towards strengthening nuclear safety, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

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IAEA teams will monitor the repairs from both sides of the Dnipro River, after also having observed demining activities that were necessary beforehand. The work is expected to take several days as the repairs are extraordinarily complicated and technically challenging: the damaged section of the power line crosses high above the river, and the area requiring mine clearance was large, including parts of the old riverbed that still contain water.

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The development comes just days after the ZNPP’s only available back-up power line, the 330 kV Ferosplavna-1, was reconnected following the plant’s 19th complete loss of off-site power since the start of the military conflict.

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The Dniprovska line, the ZNPP’s main off-site power source before it was disconnected in late March, is vital for restoring a stronger connection to the external electricity grid needed to cool the plant’s six shutdown reactors and spent fuel. Before the conflict, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP) had ten external power lines available.

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“The start of these repairs is a significant step for nuclear safety and our efforts to prevent a nuclear accident during this devastating war. Restoring the 750 kV line would provide the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant with a more robust external power supply and reduce its current vulnerability after several losses of off-site power in recent weeks,” Director General Grossi said.

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The current localized ceasefire is the sixth such arrangement facilitated by the IAEA since late 2025 to enable repairs to the site’s off-site power needed to ensure nuclear safety and security.

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Ferosplavna-1 was disconnected on 10 June after military activity damaged it near the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP) switchyard. Emergency diesel generators at the ZNPP started operating automatically and functioned as designed. An IAEA team observed the repair activities on 13 June, and the line was reconnected the same day. Lasting nearly three days, it was one of the ZNPP’s longest instances of loss of off-site power.

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Further repairs at the ZTPP switchyard – currently under way – remain important despite the reconnection of the 330 kV line. Ferosplavna-1 normally supplies back-up electricity to the ZNPP from this switchyard through two separate lines, adding redundancy to the plant’s off-site power supply. A previous IAEA-facilitated localized ceasefire earlier this year enabled the repair of one of these two lines.

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On several occasions while monitoring the work under the sixth ceasefire, the IAEA was informed of, and observed, unidentified drones nearby, requiring the teams to leave the area more than once. Military activity has also continued to be reported daily in the vicinity of the ZNPP, including near the city of Enerhodar, where IAEA team members twice observed thick smoke.

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The IAEA was also informed of attacks in Enerhodar, including the death of a ZNPP staff member earlier this week. The IAEA is seeking further information about the circumstances and continues to stress that all NPP personnel must be able to carry out their essential work without being subjected to attacks or threats of any kind, in line with the Seven Indispensable Pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during armed conflict.

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“Nuclear power plant staff must be protected at all times. They carry out essential work for nuclear safety and security, often in extremely difficult circumstances, and must never be targeted,” Director General Grossi said.

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Text Courtesy, IAEA