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Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant needs cooperation agreement in event of Ukraine peace, says IAEA

MANILA, Nov 25 (Reuters) – https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-needs-cooperation-agreement-event-ukraine-peace-says-2025-11-25/

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Tuesday the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will need a “special status” and a cooperation agreement between Russia and Ukraine if a peace deal is reached.

Russian forces seized the plant, Europe’s largest with six reactors, in the first weeks of Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The plant produces no electricity, but each side regularly accuses the other of military actions compromising nuclear safety.

“Whatever side of the line it ends up, you will have to have a cooperative arrangement or a cooperative atmosphere,” he said.

Grossi’s comments come as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration makes an intense new push to end the war.

U.S. and Ukrainian officials are trying to narrow the gaps between them over a draft peace plan that includes provisions for Zaporizhzhia’s future.

Without peace, there is danger of a nuclear accident, Grossi said.

“Until the war stops or there is a ceasefire or the guns are silenced, there is always a possibility of something going very, very wrong,” he said in an interview.

“No single operator can use a nuclear power plant when across the river there is another country which is resisting this and may take action against that.”

A draft version of the U.S.-backed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, according to a copy seen by Reuters, proposes restarting the plant under IAEA supervision, with electricity output split equally between Russia and Ukraine.

“Shared, not shared – and I don’t want to get into that because it’s political – …it’s something that Ukraine and Russia will be deciding at some point,” Grossi said. “But one thing is clear, the IAEA is indispensable in this situation.”

Zaporizhzhia’s six reactors have been in cold shutdown since 2022, relying on external power lines and emergency systems to prevent a station blackout. The IAEA maintains a continued presence at the site to monitor safety amid ongoing shelling.

November 28, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, Ukraine