The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced this Friday a temporary and local ceasefire agreement in the surroundings of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe and in the hands of Russian troops since March 2022. The rapprochement aims to undertake the necessary repairs on the last reserve power line of the nuclear facility,
“The IAEA continues to work closely with both parties to ensure safety at the (Zaporijia) nuclear power plant and prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict. This temporary ceasefire, the fourth we negotiated, demonstrates the indispensable role we continue to play“said the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi.
An IAEA team has left Vienna to monitor the work that will begin in the coming days. Technicians will try to put the 330 kilowatt line, “damaged and disconnected”, into operation and join it with the 750 kilowatt main line, the only one on which it depended after the January attacks.
Already this week, another team of technicians from the organization has evaluated the measures adopted by the plant to maintain safety in times of adverse weather and has confirmed the correct implementation of winter protection measures to prevent freezing of water in groundwater wells.
Likewise, to avoid damage due to “icy” temperatures, those responsible for the plant will control the temperature of the local heating to guarantee the correct operation of the emergency diesel generators, necessary in case of another power outage.
Danger from military activity
Other plants like the one in recent weeks due to military activity in the area, “a fact that once again underlines the importance of a reliable electrical grid infrastructure for nuclear security,” Grossi stated.
In the last seven days alone, IAEA observers have detected military activity at Ukraine’s five nuclear plants, even with strong explosions in its surroundings.
“The deterioration of Ukraine’s power grid due to persistent military activity has direct implications for the nuclear safety of its nuclear facilities. The IAEA will continue to prioritize the functionality of these critical substations,” he added.
Russia and Ukraine against the support infrastructure of the plant (controlled by Russian troops since the early stages of the war), which has been left without power on up to 12 occasions since February 2022. Another temporary ceasefire negotiated by the IAEA on December 30 already allowed repairs to be carried out on said line.
