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Work has begun to repair damaged power supplies to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said on Saturday. The repairs are expected to end a precarious four-week blackout that left him reliant on backup generators.

Russian and Ukrainian forces established special ceasefire zones so that repairs could be carried out safely, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement on social media attributed to its head Rafael Grossi. The agency praised the restoration of external power as “crucial to nuclear safety.”

“Both sides worked constructively with the IAEA to allow the complex repair plan to proceed,” the statement said.

Ukrainian Energy Minister Svitlana Grynchuk confirmed that Ukrainian specialists were involved in restoring the plant’s power lines and said their stable operation and connection to Ukraine’s power grid were essential to avoid a nuclear incident. He also said it was the 42nd time since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022 that the plant’s power lines had to be cut.
restored. Ukraine has previously accused Russia of attacking the nation. electrical network.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has been running on backup diesel generators since September 23, when its The last remaining external power line was cut in attacks that Russia and Ukraine blamed each other, officials said.

The plant is in an area under Russian control since the beginning of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is not in service, but needs reliable power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel, to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incident.

Elsewhere, Russia continued its aerial bombardment of Ukraine, launching three missiles and 164 drones overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Saturday. He said Ukrainian forces shot down 136 of the drones.

Two people were injured after Russian drones attacked a gas station in the Zarichny district of Sumy, northeastern Ukraine, local officials said on Saturday. They were two women, aged 51 and 53, according to regional governor Oleh Hryhorov.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its air defenses had shot down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Work began one day after President Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House and two days after he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump called the meeting with Zelenskyy “very interesting and cordial” in a post on Truth Social and urged the two leaders to end the war.

Their discussions revolved around the United States giving Ukraine Tomahawk missiles, possibly in exchange for Ukrainian drones. News themezone previously reported. Details of the discussions were not shared, although Trump indicated he believed sending missiles could escalate the war.

Mr. Trump announced earlier this week that he would soon meet Putin in Budapest. When Zelenskyy arrived at the White House on Friday, Trump told a reporter that he believed he could persuade Putin to end the war. Trump later said in the Oval Office that he believes he and Zelenskyy are making “great strides” toward ending the war.

Russia has not indicated it wants to end the war and Trump has expressed frustration with Putin in recent months. first woman Melania Trump said last week had worked with the Russian leader to return Ukrainian children to their families, an initiative Trump said she took on on her own.

In:

• International Atomic Energy Agency
• Ukraine
• Russia
• United Nations