The UN nuclear watchdog seeks a local truce to restore power to the Zaporizhzhia plant

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VIENNA (AP) — The U.N. nuclear watchdog is pushing Ukraine and Russia to agree to local ceasefires so that external power can be restored to Ukraine’s huge nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, two diplomats familiar with the plan told The Associated Press.

The plant is in an area under Russian control since early in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is not in service, but it needs reliable power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel, to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incidents.

It has been operating on diesel generators since Sept. 23 when its last remaining external power line was severed in attacks that each side blamed on the other. The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed alarm about the nuclear plant, Europe’s biggest.

The agency is proposing to restore external power to the plant in two phases, according to a European diplomat briefed on the proposal by the 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 discuss the confidential negotiations publicly.

During the first phase, a 1.5-kilometer-radius (1-mile-radius) ceasefire zone would be established to allow repair of the Dniprovska 750-kilovolt line, the main power line to the plant that has been damaged in an area under Russian control.

During the second phase, a second such ceasefire zone would be established to repair the Ferosplavna-1 330-kilovolt backup line, which is in area under Ukraine’s control.

IAEA experts would be on hand to monitor the repairs, which originally were proposed for a 7-day period from Oct. 11 to Oct. 17, according to the European diplomat and confidential documents seen by the AP.

However, although the Ukrainian side has given necessary guarantees of safe passage for repair crews, Russia did not give such guarantees in time for the work to start under that timetable, according to the European diplomat.

The Russian diplomat, on the other hand, said that preparations for the repairs are under way and that they can start very soon.

The IAEA declined to comment on the timing, saying only that Grossi was engaging “intensively with both sides” to enable the reconnection of power and to “help prevent a nuclear accident.”

Grossi held talks with both Ukraine and Russia last month. He met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on Sept. 29 at the Warsaw Security Forum, following meetings in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sept. 25 and Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev on Sept. 26.

The IAEA warned that if diesel generators fail, “it could lead to a complete blackout and possibly causing an accident with the fuel melting and a potential radiation release into the environment, if power could not be restored in time.”

The latest blackout is the tenth time that the Zaporizhzhia plant has lost all external power, and is by far the longest since the start of the war. The 330-kilovolt backup line was lost in May, and the main line was disconnected on Sept. 23.

The plant is close to the front line and has been occupied by Russia since March 2022. Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for shelling close to the plant.

In a video address Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was again ready to repair power lines under its control as it has done dozens of times before, but he said Russia was not interested in restoring safety. “It must be pressured into doing so,” he said.

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The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The 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/