Ukraine protests to IAEA over Russia building power lines to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Ukraine has protested to the international atomic energy watchdog about reports that Russia is building power lines to connect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to its own grid, a Ukrainian official said on Wednesday.

Yuriy Vitrenko, Ukraine's representative to international bodies in Vienna, told Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform that Kyiv sees any attempt by Russia to connect the occupied plant to its grid as a gross violation of international law and Ukrainian sovereignty.

On Tuesday, The New York times cited a new Greenpeace report which found that Russia had been building more than 50 miles (80 km) of power lines between the occupied Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk.

Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated that attempts to restart the plant could lead to a nuclear disaster, as Russian personnel are unfamiliar with the significantly upgraded equipment, are not trained to use it, and the condition of the plant itself is unknown.

The lack of sufficient water volumes to cool the reactors after the Russian-held Kakhovka dam was blown up in June 2023, unleashing flooding, was an additional source of danger, they say.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the issue of restarting the plant would be discussed at meetings during his visits to Ukraine and possibly to Russia in the coming days.