The UN nuclear watchdog is urging Kyiv and Moscow to agree to localized ceasefires that would allow external power to be reconnected to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to press reports.
The plant has been depending on emergency diesel generators since Sept. 23, when its final external power link was cut during shelling that each side has attempted to blame on the other.
The outage, the longest since Russian forces seized the plant early in the full-scale invasion, has intensified international concern over Ukraine’s nuclear safety.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has warned that the deadlock is becoming critical, with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi saying that “the risks are growing” as the plant continues to rely on diesel generators to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel.
Two diplomats familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press that the nuclear agency is envisioning a two-stage process to reconnect external power.
One source was a European diplomat briefed on the proposal by the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, while the other was a Russian diplomat who confirmed some aspects of the plan, according to the news agency. Both spoke on condition of anonymity.
In the first phase, a 1.5-kilometer-radius ceasefire zone would be created to facilitate repairs to the Dniprovska 750 kilovolt line, the plant’s main power conduit running through Russian-held territory.
The second stage would see a similar zone established to fix the Ferosplavna-1 330 kilovolt backup line, which is in an area controlled by Ukraine.
IAEA personnel would monitor and oversee the work, which was originally scheduled for a 7-day period from Oct. 11 to Oct. 17, according to the European diplomat and confidential diplomats reviewed by the news agency.
However, while Kyiv has provided the requisite security guarantees and safe passage for repair crews, Moscow has not done so in time for the operation to begin on schedule, according to the European diplomat.
The Russian side maintained that preparations for the work were continuing and that restoration work would start very soon.
The IAEA declined a request by AP to comment, electing only to say that Grossi was engaging “intensively with both sides” to enable the reconnection of power and to “help prevent a nuclear accident.”
The nuclear agency has cautioned that if diesel generators fail, “it could lead to a complete blackout and possibly causing an accident with the fuel melting and a potential radiation release into the environment, if power could not be restored in time.”
On Sunday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha accused Moscow once again of deliberately severing the external power line to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in an attempt to link the plant to Moscow’s power grid.
Ukrainian officials have long maintained that Moscow’s plan is to restart the plant and redirect its output to the Russian grid.
On Oct. 1, Volodymyr Zelensky warned that “there has never been anything like this before” and “this is a threat to absolutely everybody” as he marked the day the plant had been off the grid for one full week.
A day later, Deputy Energy Minister Artem Nekrasov warned that the situation was unprecedented, saying that the plant’s design “did not foresee long-term functioning of safety systems solely on diesel generators.”