The occupied Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is preparing to move reactor unit 4 from cold shutdown to hot shutdown – after which unit 5, currently in hot shutdown, will be placed in cold shutdown in order to carry out preventive maintenance activities that are only possible in cold shutdown.

"The other units remain in cold shutdown," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the IAEA, the site uses the steam generated from one reactor unit in hot shutdown for various nuclear safety purposes including the processing of liquid radioactive waste collected in storage tanks.

"However, the IAEA experts are strongly encouraging the ZNPP to investigate all possible options to install an external boiler to generate the steam required, which would enable the site to bring all units into a cold shutdown state. The Ukraine national regulator – SNRIU – has issued regulatory orders to limit the operation of all six units to a cold shutdown state," it said.

The IAEA also said that rotations of experts took place at Khmelnytsky (NPP), Rivne (NPP), Pivdennoukrainsk (NPP) and Chornobyl (NPP) sites last week. The IAEA teams report that the sites are continuing to maintain their operating and refueling schedules despite the challenges faced by the conflict. They also confirm that there are no nuclear safety or security related issues at the four sites.