The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been running on diesel generators for 30 days, has been reconnected to external power. Engineers have repaired a damaged high-voltage line, the Russian-based management of the nuclear power plant said on Thursday.
The plant produced about a fifth of Ukraine's electricity before the war. But it has been shut down since Russian forces took it over a few weeks into the Russian invasion of the neighboring country. However, it still needs power to maintain cooling and safety systems. This prevents the reactors from melting down.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wrote earlier on Thursday that restoring external power would be "a crucial step for nuclear safety."
The Russian management of the plant has thanked the IAEA for helping to bring about a local ceasefire. The ceasefire helped ensure that the work could be carried out, according to a press release from the management.
At the same time, the nuclear management expresses hope that the local ceasefire will continue. This will allow another external connection to be repaired. It has been down since May 7.
The nuclear watchdog IAEA has repeatedly expressed concern about the safety of the nuclear power plant due to fighting nearby.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling the area - and they have also blamed each other for the latest power outage.
During the same period as the outage, Russia has intensified its attacks on the Ukrainian power grid, which has been a frequent Russian target during the winter periods.
/ritzau/Reuters
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