VIENNA (AP) — United Nations nuclear watchdog Russia is pressuring Ukraine and Russia to agree to a local ceasefire so that off-site power can be restored to Ukraine’s giant nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, two diplomats familiar with the plan told The Associated Press.
This factory was located in an area under Russian control from the beginning of the full-scale construction of Moscow invasion of ukraine and that is Not in serviceBut to avoid a catastrophic nuclear accident, reliable power is needed to cool the six shut down reactors and spent fuel.
It has been running on diesel generators since September 23, when the last remaining external power line was severed in an attack blamed on both sides. International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed caution About Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
European diplomats briefed on the proposal by the IAEA chief said the agency is proposing to restore off-site power to power plants in two stages. Rafael Grossi. Russian diplomats confirmed some aspects of the plan.
Both diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the secret negotiations.
In the first phase, a 1.5-kilometre (1-mile) cease-fire zone will be established to allow for the repair of the Dniprovska 750-kilovolt line, the main transmission line to the damaged nuclear power plant in Russian-controlled areas.
In the second phase, a second such ceasefire zone will be established to restore the 330 kilovolt backup line at Ferosplavna-1, which is under Ukrainian control.
IAEA experts will be on hand to monitor the restoration effort, which was originally scheduled for seven days from Oct. 11 to Oct. 17, according to European diplomats and confidential documents obtained by The Associated Press.
However, European diplomats say that while the Ukrainian side gave the necessary guarantees for the safe passage of repair workers, Russia did not give such guarantees before work could begin according to its schedule.
Meanwhile, Russian diplomats said that preparations for repairs were underway and could begin immediately.
The IAEA declined to comment on timing, saying only that Grossi was working “intensively with both countries” to enable power reconnection and “contribute to preventing a nuclear accident.”
Mr. Grossi met with both Ukraine and Russia last month. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 25th, Rosatom Director-General Alexei Likhachev on September 26th in Moscow, and with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha at the Warsaw Security Forum on September 29th.
The IAEA warned that if a diesel generator fails, “if power cannot be restored in time, it could lead to a complete power outage and an accident in which the fuel could melt and release radiation into the environment.”
The power outage is the 10th time the Zaporizhzhia factory has lost all external power, and by far the longest since the start of the war. The 330 kilovolt reserve line was lost in May, and the main line was severed on September 23.
The power plant is close to the front lines and has been occupied by Russia since March 2022. Ukraine and Russia have traded responsibility for shelling near power plants.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address Sunday that Ukraine was ready to once again repair power lines under its control, as it has done dozens of times before, but said Russia was not interested in restoring security. “There must be pressure to do that,” he says.
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Additional AP coverage of the nuclear situation: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/
