Russia says local truce established to enable repairs at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

MOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - A local ceasefire took effect near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine on Friday to enable repairs to an external power line, Russian officials said.

The plant, Europe's largest, has been under Russian control since shortly after the start of the war in 2022. It is not currently producing electricity, and relies on external power to keep its nuclear material cool and avoid a catastrophic accident.

Russia and Ukraine have frequently accused each other of jeopardising safety at the plant by staging attacks nearby. A similar local truce was established last year when the power lines went down for weeks and the site was forced to rely on emergency diesel generators.

The Russian management said in a statement that the latest ceasefire had been put in place with help from Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Russian officials said one of the external power lines was still working, and repairs to the other would take at least a week. Radiation levels are normal, the management said.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on the matter.

The question of who should control and operate the huge plant is one of the contentious issues in slow-moving U.S.-mediated peace talks which are set to resume in Geneva next month.