VIENNA, Oct 16, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said Wednesday that he expects repairs to begin "soon" to restore the power supply to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

The site, occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, lost its connection to the grid on September 23 for the tenth time -- marking the longest outage of external power supply to the facility since Russia invaded Ukraine.

"I continue to consult with Russia and Ukraine so that these works can begin in the coming days," said the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency in a statement.

The largest plant in Europe has since been powered by backup diesel generators, and "repairs to power lines are needed on both sides of the front line, several kilometres from the site", according to Grossi.

Nuclear safety was still "maintained" with six reactors that have been shut down continuing to be effectively cooled and radiation levels remaining normal, according to the IAEA.

Located near the city of Enerhodar along the Dnieper River, the nuclear plant is close to the front line.

The agency's team on site "continues to report military activities at various distances from the site".

Its six reactors, which produced about one-fifth of Ukraine's electricity before the war, were shut down after Moscow took control.

However, the plant needs electricity to maintain its cooling and safety systems to prevent a disaster.

At the beginning of October, Moscow claimed that the situation was "under control" in Zaporizhzhia following concerns raised by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of risking a nuclear disaster by attacking the site and have blamed each other for the latest power outage.

"Neither side would benefit from a nuclear accident, and I am in constant contact with them to enable the rapid restoration of the connection," Grossi has said.