Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant could restart months after ceasefire, IAEA chief says

By Francois Murphy

VIENNA (Reuters) - The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine could come back online within months of a ceasefire, but it would probably take more than a year to restart all six reactors, the U.N. atomic watchdog chief said on Wednesday.

Russian forces took over Europe's biggest nuclear power plant a week after invading Ukraine. Zaporizhzhia, now near the front line, provided 20% of Ukraine's power output before the war. All its reactors are shut down as war rages around it and threatens to cause a potentially catastrophic accident.

Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of attacks including shelling and drone strikes that have downed power lines essential to preventing a meltdown, damaged an International Atomic Energy Agency vehicle and set a cooling tower on fire.

"What we want is to have a moment where we will be able to confirm that there is no longer active combat in this area," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters in an interview.

"This will be, I would say, tangible progress because we can move to a non-war mode," he said.

U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine and a rapid rapprochement with Moscow that has alarmed Kyiv and European countries.

The IAEA is not part of those talks and while it says the plant is Ukraine's under international law, it must work with whichever country controls the plant. Grossi said he took no view on how a cessation of hostilities should be set up.

A U.S. statement said Trump suggested in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy last week that the United States could help run, and possibly own, Ukraine's nuclear power plants.

Zelenskiy denied ownership was discussed but said Zaporizhzhia was among the topics, adding that Kyiv would be ready to discuss U.S. involvement in modernizing the plant if it were returned to Ukraine. Russia, however, says any transfer to Ukraine or another country is "impossible".

'NOT IMPOSSIBLE'

The IAEA has a small number of staff stationed at Zaporizhzhia. Its last quarterly report said the safety and security situation at Zaporizhzhia remains precarious, and armed Russian troops had prevented access to parts of the plant.

"In terms of the safety of the plant and the general situation at the plant, I have to say that it is professionally controlled and managed (by Russia)," Grossi said.

"Some maintenance work ... (was) perhaps not as comprehensive as we could have had, but this is also a function of the war," he said.

Despite that, a relatively rapid but gradual restart of the plant, one reactor at a time, should be possible, he said.

"We're talking about months, and perhaps for the whole Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to be back and operating in full with all the six units, it would take more than a year maybe, perhaps even more," Grossi said, adding that operating all the reactors would be "difficult but not impossible".

Water for cooling has been a concern since the plant's biggest source, the nearby Kakhovka reservoir, was emptied after its dam was blown up in 2023. That led to wells being dug at Zaporizhzhia.

More ambitious solutions to bring water from further away were ruled out because of the hostilities, but a ceasefire could make them possible, paving the way for operating all reactors, Grossi said.

"If you are in a ceasefire situation, then you can envisage more ambitious work that will beef up ... your cooling capacity. So it's not impossible," he said.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy, Editing by William Maclean)