Particle.news
Download on the App Store

IAEA Secures Sixth Local Truce to Allow Repairs at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

The pause is intended to let technicians and demining teams restore the 750 kV Dniprovska line that supplies power for pumps that cool spent fuel at the plant.

Overview

  • The IAEA negotiated a sixth short, localized ceasefire to permit repair work on the 750 kV Dniprovska transmission line that feeds external electricity to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
  • Repair operations require Ukrainian and Russian technicians to work together and deminers to clear the area before crews can safely reach and fix the damaged line.
  • Russia’s state nuclear company Rosatom said a Ukrainian drone strike injured engineers near the site as the truce took effect, a report that complicates the operation and is contested in public accounts.
  • All six reactors at Zaporizhzhia have been offline since early 2022, but spent fuel remains in cooling pools that need continuous electricity to run pumps and keep temperatures safe.
  • Repeated losses of external power have forced the plant to rely on emergency diesel generators, removing about 5.7 gigawatts from Europe’s supply and leaving nuclear safety tied to fragile, short ceasefires.