Russia and Ukraine have reached an agreement for a localised ceasefire so that repairs can be carried out on Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant.

The IAEA today secured the agreement of both the Russian Federation and Ukraine to implement a localized ceasefire enabling repairs to begin on the last remaining backup power line to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), IAEA director general Rafeal Mariano Grossi confirmed.

Technicians from Ukraine’s electrical grid operator are expected to begin repair work on the 330 kV line – damaged and disconnected as a result of military activity on 2 January – in the coming days. The disconnection has left Europe’s largest NPP dependent on its sole functioning 750 kV main power line, an official IAEA release read.

At Ukraine’s Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) site, one power line was disconnected in the past week after military activity damaged an electrical substation critical to its power supply, a development that once again underscores the importance of reliable electrical grid infrastructure for nuclear safety, Grossi also said.

“The IAEA continues to work closely with both sides to ensure nuclear safety at the ZNPP and to prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict. This temporary ceasefire, the fourth we have negotiated, demonstrates the indispensable role that we continue to play”, Grossi said today.

The team was also able to confirm that winter protection measures are in place to prevent freezing of water in the groundwater wells, which supply cooling water for safety systems that cool the reactors and spent fuel pools. The ZNPP informed the team that the pumps operating in the unit pumping stations of the six shutdown reactors, would continue to work even if ice was to form on the surface of the inlet channel, and that currently no ice had been observed in that area.

He added: “A deterioration of Ukraine’s power grid from persistent military activity has direct implications on the nuclear safety of its nuclear facilities. The IAEA will, as a priority, continue to assess the functionality of these critical substations.”

IAEA teams reported military activities or air raid alarms at all five nuclear sites in Ukraine over the past week. The teams at the Chornobyl site and at the Khmelnitsky NPP were informed that military objects flying within five kilometers of the sites had been observed on 11 and 15 January, respectively.

At ZNPP, the team continues to hear a large number of explosions, including some within the vicinity of the site. The team at the South Ukraine NPP has reported multiple air raid alarms each day over the past week and were informed that a military flying object had been observed approximately 10km from the site.

An IAEA team has departed Vienna to travel to the frontline in order to observe the repair works.