Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) continued to have access to off-site electrical power for cooling and other safety functions and that one of its reactor units had been reconnected to the national grid, a day after the plant temporarily lost connection to a vital power line, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

"Director General Grossi said he welcomed the restoration of the external power line. But he added that the power cuts had highlighted the potential vulnerability of a major nuclear power plant (NPP) located in the middle of an active conflict zone and the critical importance of sending an IAEA expert mission to the six-reactor facility as soon as possible to help stabilize the nuclear safety and security situation there," the IAEA report said.

"I remain engaged in active and intense consultations with all parties to organize and lead an IAEA mission to Zaporizhia NPP very soon, hopefully in the next few days. As sudden loss of the external power line showed, the IAEA's presence at the site is urgently needed," he said.