Vienna: The situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains critical as the facility has been running solely on emergency diesel generators since September 23 following a loss of external power. The prolonged outage has raised serious concerns about reactor safety and the risk of a nuclear hazard.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for immediate localized ceasefires to allow repair crews to restore the plant’s external power lines. The agency outlined a two-phase plan: first, establishing a 1.5-kilometer ceasefire zone to repair the Dniprovska 750-kilovolt line in Russian-controlled territory, followed by a similar zone to restore the Ferosplavna-1 330-kilovolt line in Ukrainian-controlled areas. While Ukraine has agreed to provide safety guarantees for repair teams, Russia has yet to reciprocate.

This outage marks the plant’s tenth loss of external power and the longest in its history. Ukrainian officials accuse Russia of deliberately severing the plant’s connection to the national grid in an effort to link it to Russia’s electrical system, while Moscow insists the plant remains non-operational due to power shortages. Both sides have blamed each other for the shelling that caused the outage.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the IAEA to take stronger measures, warning that Russia shows little interest in ensuring the plant’s safety. The IAEA continues to monitor the situation closely, stressing that restoring external power is essential to prevent potential nuclear risks.

The international community remains on alert as efforts intensify to stabilize Europe’s largest nuclear power facility and prevent a possible disaster.