Russia and Ukraine agree ceasefire near Zaporizhzhya plant

A local ceasefire came into effect on Friday in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine to allow repairs to damaged overhead power lines. According to Russian officials, the aim is to stabilise the power supply to the plant, which has been under Moscow's control since the start of the war and is currently not producing electricity.

The facility relies on external power sources to cool nuclear material and prevent a potentially catastrophic accident.

Russia and Ukraine have long accused each other of attacks near the site. A similar situation occurred last year, when the power plant had to operate on emergency diesel generators for several weeks.

Moscow claims that the current ceasefire was agreed with the help of Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

One of the lines is operational, while repairs to the other are expected to take at least a week. According to Russia, radiation levels are normal.

Kyiv has not yet commented on the matter.

(reuters, pir)