“Right after I graduated, I interned with the Arms Control Association. It was terrific.”
Russia, Ukraine Agree to Repairs at Zaporizhzhia
November 2025
Ukraine and Russia agreed to a ceasefire around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in order to allow workers to repair power lines to the site, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced.
The plant, which Russia is illegally occupying, had been cut off from external power for four weeks when the repairs commenced. Although the six reactor units remain shut down, the facility needs access to external power to cool the reactors and the spent fuel. The last external power line connecting the facility to external power was severed during an attack Sept. 23.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in an Oct. 18 statement on the social media site X that the two sides “engaged constructively” with the agency to enable the repairs. He said the restoration of “off-site power is crucial for nuclear safety and security.”
The repairs, which the IAEA announced were completed Oct. 23, included restoring the main power line to the plant and a backup power line. The backup power line runs through an area still controlled by Ukraine.
The plant relies on diesel generators to produce the electricity necessary for cooling when the external power lines are severed. Grossi, in an Oct. 15 statement, described that situation as “not sustainable.” The IAEA warned that if the diesel generators failed and power was not restored quickly, it could lead to “an accident with the fuel melting and a potential radiation release into the environment.”
The Zaporizhzhia facility has been cut off from external power 10 times since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.—KELSEY DAVENPORT