IAEA brokers eighth localized ceasefire for ZNPP transformer repair
The repair strengthens the connection between the ZNPP and the Ferosplavna-1 330 kV line, its sole remaining external power line.
Key facts
- Dniprovska 750 kV line repaired in June 2026 but still unavailable after further damage
- No diesel deliveries to the ZNPP since March 2026; reserves running low
- Chornobyl monitoring area logged 134 drones this week; one caused a fire 2 km away
- South Ukraine NPP reported 121 drones; Khmelnytskyy 31 and Rivne one
- 194 air raid alerts in the past week; IAEA teams sheltered at Khmelnytskyy and Rivne
The eighth localized ceasefire facilitated by the IAEA between Ukraine and the Russian Federation began on Thursday morning, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on October 16. It enables the repair of a backup transformer damaged by military activity near the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant. The repair is to strengthen the connection between the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and the Ferosplavna-1 330 kV off-site power line, the ZNPP's sole remaining external power line.
Dniprovska line still unavailable after June repairs
Efforts to reinstate the ZNPP's other external line, the Dniprovska 750 kV line, are ongoing. Repairs were completed in June 2026 under a previous IAEA-brokered ceasefire, but the line remains unavailable because of subsequent damage to the line and previous damage to the associated electrical substation. "The restoration of the Dniprovska 750 kV power line would significantly enhance nuclear safety and security and reduce dependence on limited diesel fuel stocks," Grossi said, calling on both sides to continue working with the IAEA on its reinstatement.
No diesel deliveries since March
Diesel fuel supplies at the ZNPP have been running low in recent months, and no deliveries have occurred since March 2026. Grossi said the depleted reserves increase the risk that nuclear safety is challenged in the event of another loss of off-site power, and that the volume of diesel fuel available on site must be increased before winter.
Chornobyl detects 134 drones
Military activity increased at Ukraine's other nuclear power plant sites this week compared with the previous week, when 80 drones were reported in total. The Chornobyl site detected 134 drones in its monitoring area, and on October 9 IAEA staff there observed a drone descending near the site and impacting a forested area about 2 kilometers away, causing a fire that the fire brigade brought under control. South Ukraine reported 121 drones, Khmelnytskyy 31 and Rivne one. Sites recorded 194 air raid alerts over the past week, and IAEA teams at Khmelnytskyy and Rivne had to shelter on multiple occasions.
The IAEA delivered air handling equipment, spare parts for radiation monitoring and high-sensitivity monochrome video surveillance cameras to the Chornobyl NPP, and three diesel generators to the Kyiv Institute for Nuclear Research, with funds from France, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
