A Russian official said as early as tomorrow, Friday, a decision could be made on a cessation of hostilities that would allow repairs to be made on external power lines at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Russian state media reported.

According to the head of Russia’s state-run nuclear power company Rosatom, Alexei Likachev, quoted by Russian media, the implementation of a “quiet period” could allow work to be carried out on two damaged power lines at the plant. One is in territory controlled by Russia and the other in an area that remains under the control of Ukraine.

“It is a very difficult decision that requires a good balance. It is very experimental, very preliminary, (…) it is possible that a decision of this kind will be implemented as early as tomorrow,” noted Likachev.

The nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, the largest in Europe, was seized by Russian forces shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. It is no longer operational to generate electricity, but relies on power from an external grid to cool nuclear material and prevent a major accident.

Yesterday, Wednesday evening, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that he expects repairs to begin “soon” to restore the power supply to the station from the grid, as the current situation is not, according to him, “sustainable”.

“I continue to advise Russia and Ukraine to be able to start this work within the next few days,” noted Rafael Grossi.

The nuclear plant was disconnected from the power grid for the tenth time on September 23, the longest period in which the nuclear plant has been completely cut off from the external power grid since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The nuclear plant currently depends on 7 emergency diesel generators to run its safety systems and cool its six reactors and, as the IAEA chief noted, “it is necessary to make repairs to power lines on both sides of the front line, kilometers away from the station.”

According to the IAEA, nuclear safety is “maintained” as the nuclear fuel of the plant’s six reactors, which are not operating, is still adequately cooled and radioactivity levels are normal.

In early October, Moscow announced that the situation at the Zaporizhia station was “under control”, following alarming statements by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of risking a nuclear disaster with strikes in the area where the plant is located, and have blamed each other for disconnecting the plant from the power grid.

“A nuclear accident would not be in the interest of either side, and I am in constant contact with them with a view to allowing the connection to be quickly restored,” Grossi said earlier this month.