• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has restored off-site power to the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine after a 15-hour outage, highlighting the fragility of the electrical grid in the region.
• This outage was one of the longest losses of off-site power since the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, with the need for urgent power line repairs under an IAEA-brokered ceasefire.
• Restoring the power line at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant was deemed necessary to reduce the risk of a potential nuclear accident, as all six reactors at the facility have been shut down for safety reasons.

A key power line at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine is operational again, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday.

"Off-site power was restored to the ZNPP this morning after a 15-hour outage, when the site had to rely on emergency diesel generators for electricity to cool its six shutdown reactors," the IAEA said in a post on social media platform X.

The agency cited chief Rafael Grossi as saying that this was one of the longest losses of off-site power, and the 18th in total, since the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022.

The outage, Rossi said, highlights the fragility of the electrical grid and the need to urgently carry out planned power line repairs under the protection of an IAEA-brokered ceasefire.

A "localized ceasefire" brokered by the IAEA between Moscow and Kiev to allow for repairs came into force on Friday.

According to the agency, restoring the power line was necessary to reduce the risk of a nuclear accident.

Zaporizhzhya, located in south-eastern Ukraine, is Europe's largest nuclear power plant, with six reactors and a capacity of around 6,000 megawatts.

Russian forces seized the facility shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

All six reactors have since been shut down for safety reasons, but a reliable supply of electricity is needed to keep them cool.

Kiev and Moscow have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the plant.