International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi says power has been restored at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine after the second outage in five days highlighted the "precarious" situation concerning the station's nuclear safety and security functions.
"This morning's outage was caused by shelling damage to a far off substation, highlighting how precarious the situation is. We need a protection zone ASAP," he said in a tweet on October 12.
When the connection to the external power line was cut, the plant's emergency diesel generators automatically started operating to provide the six reactors with the electricity they need for cooling and other essential safety functions, the IAEA said in a statement.
"The fact that the plant's external power was lost because of an incident far away shows how vulnerable it is with only one power line connecting it to the grid," Grossi said in the statement.
"The situation at the plant is clearly untenable and immediate action is required to strengthen nuclear safety and security and prevent a nuclear accident from happening."
The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, has been a flashpoint in Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame for months over shelling near the facility that has sparked fears of a nuclear disaster. Russian troops occupy the plant and the surrounding area.
Grossi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on October 11 as part of efforts by the IAEA to prevent an accident and Grossi's push to establish a safety and security zone around the plant.
The IAEA chief is due to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on October 13 for further talks regarding the power plant, the agency's statement said.