Urgent repairs at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine are to be made during a limited ceasefire at the frontline site, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in Vienna on Saturday.
The plant is running low on diesel fuel reserves and faces a possible station blackout within days unless off-site power is restored or more fuel reserves can be transported to the site, located in an active war zone.
Due to the loss of the external power supply to the Russian-occupied facility, the station and its cooling systems could suffer a blackout "within days," warned the IAEA, which brokered the ceasefire with the warring sides.
Either the power line must be repaired or diesel fuel for emergency generators must be delivered within a short time, the agency said on X.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said repair work would begin on Saturday after demining operations. Grossi has previously negotiated several limited ceasefires for repair work around the plant.
Europe's largest nuclear power plant fell under Russian control shortly after the outbreak of the Ukraine war in 2022. The six reactors are shut down, but the plant needs electricity to cool the radioactive material and prevent a nuclear accident.
The last remaining power line to the plant was severed during fighting on August 20. Since then, it has relied on diesel generators, but according to the IAEA, fuel is running low. Before the conflict, the plant had 10 external power lines.