The UN nuclear regulator has announced that the process of restoring external power to the Russian-controlled Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which has been disconnected from the grid for more than two weeks, has begun.
Raphael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the process began after consultations with authorities in Ukraine and Russia.
Russian forces took over the plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, in the first weeks after the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The plant does not produce electricity, and both sides regularly accuse each other of military actions against the facility.
"After intensive consultations, the process leading to the restoration of external power... has begun," he said Grossi said in a statement on the IAEA website.
"While it will take some time before the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant's network connection is restored, both sides have engaged with us in a constructive manner to achieve this important goal in the name of nuclear safety and security."
Since the last external connection went down on September 23, the plant has been relying on emergency diesel generators to ensure that the fuel in the reactors is cooled and no meltdowns occur.
In his statement, Grossi said that IAEA monitors stationed at the plant reported hearing five consecutive explosions on Thursday, "occurring close to the site and shaking windows in their building."
Grossi also said that the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986, remains without external power supply. Ukraine said that the plant, which is now powered by other energy sources, lost power due to a Russian attack on an electrical substation in a nearby city.
Earlier, quoted by the Interfax news agency, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that there were currently no grounds for restarting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the absence of an external power source.
The Russian state nuclear corporation "Rosatom" had earlier announced that it was preparing to restart the plant.