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The United Nations nuclear watchdog is pushing ukraine And Russia Agreeing to a local ceasefire so that external power can be restored to Ukraine’s giant nuclear power plant ZaporizhzhyaTwo diplomats familiar with the plan told The Associated Press.
The plant has been under Russian control since its inception moscowhas a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is not in service, but to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incident, it needs reliable electricity to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel.
It has been operating on diesel generators since September 23, when its last remaining external power line was severed in attacks, which each side blamed on the other. International Atomic Energy Agency Europe’s largest nuclear plant has repeatedly expressed concern.
The agency is proposing to restore external power to the plant in two phases, according to a European diplomat briefed on the proposal by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. A Russian diplomat confirmed some aspects of the plan.
Both diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the confidential talks.
During the first phase, a 1.5-kilometre-radius (1-mile-radius) ceasefire zone will be established to allow repairs to the Dniprovska 750 kilovolt line, the plant’s main power line, which has been damaged in Russian-controlled territory.
During the second phase, a second deconfliction zone will be established to repair the Ferrosplyavna-1 330 kilovolt backup line, which is in Ukrainian-controlled territory.
IAEA experts will be on hand to oversee the repairs, which were originally planned for a 7-day period from Oct. 11 to Oct. 17, according to a European diplomat and confidential documents seen by AP.
However, according to the European diplomat, although the Ukrainian side has given the necessary guarantees of safe passage for repair crews, Russia did not give such guarantees in time to start work under that timetable.
On the other hand, the Russian diplomat said that preparations for repairs are underway and it could start soon.
The IAEA declined to comment at the time, saying only that Grossi was “engaging intensively with both sides” to enable reconnection of power and “help prevent a nuclear accident.”
Grossi held talks with both Ukraine and Russia last month. After meetings in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 25 and Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev on September 26, he met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha at the Warsaw Security Forum on September 29.
The IAEA warned that if diesel generators were to fail, “this could lead to a complete blackout and possibly an accident with fuel melting and possible radiation release into the environment, if power could not be restored in time.”
The latest blackout is the tenth time the Zaporizhia plant has lost all external power, and is the longest blackout since the beginning of the war. The 330 kilovolt backup line was lost in May, and the main line was cut on 23 September.
The plant is close to the front line and has been occupied by Russia since March 2022. Ukraine and Russia have shared blame for the shelling near the plant.
In a video address on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to again repair power lines under its control as it has done dozens of times before, but he said Russia had no interest in restoring security. “He should be pressured to do so,” he said.
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The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Outrider Foundation. AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/