IAEA reports drone strikes near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, seeks new ceasefire for repairs
The IAEA has reported a series of drone strikes on September 19, 20, and 27 that damaged transformers at the nearby Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Station, which are critical for the external power supply of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Director General Rafael Grossi is negotiating with both sides for a new localized ceasefire to enable repair work. Separately, a September 22 attack took a radiation monitoring station outside the plant out of operation, reducing the IAEA's ability to track radiation levels near ZNPP.
Key points
- Drone strikes on September 19, 20, and 27 damaged transformers at the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Station critical to external power supply of ZNPP.
- A September 22 attack put an off-site radiation monitoring station out of operation, reducing radiation monitoring capacity near the plant.
- IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi is negotiating with both sides for a new localized ceasefire to enable repair work at the thermal station.
- The planned ceasefire would be the eighth such arrangement brokered by the IAEA to restore external power to ZNPP.
- On September 7, Ukrainian power engineers restored operation of the "Ferospavna-1" power line supplying external power to ZNPP.
- The ZNPP has repeatedly lost external power during the war.
Why it matters
Damage to the transformers that supply external power to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant — Europe's largest — directly threatens nuclear safety at the occupied facility. The disabling of an off-site radiation monitoring station further degrades the IAEA's ability to track radiation levels near the plant. Grossi's push for a new localized ceasefire highlights how nuclear-safety concerns continue to require bespoke diplomatic arrangements to keep the plant functioning during the conflict.
What happened
The IAEA reported that the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Station (ZTES), located near the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), was hit by strikes on September 19, 20, and 27. The attacks damaged transformers that are critical for supplying external power to ZNPP. Separately, a September 22 attack took out of operation a radiation monitoring station located outside the ZNPP site, reducing the ability to monitor radiation levels near the plant. In response, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency is negotiating with both sides for a new localized ceasefire to enable repair work at the thermal station — a step the IAEA wants implemented as soon as possible. This would be the eighth such ceasefire arrangement brokered by the IAEA to restore external power supply to ZNPP, which has lost external power multiple times during the war.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
The available Ukrainian-language coverage frames the events around the IAEA's warnings and the threat to nuclear safety, emphasizing Grossi's statements that attacks threatening nuclear security are absolutely unacceptable and must cease immediately, and that all parties must exercise maximum military restraint near such facilities and their energy infrastructure.
Background
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has repeatedly lost external power during the war. The ceasefire now being negotiated would be the eighth localized arrangement the IAEA has brokered to restore external power supply to ZNPP.