This was stated on Espreso TV by Ivan Plachkov, head of the board of the All-Ukrainian Energy Assembly and former Minister of Fuel and Energy of Ukraine (1999, 2005–2006).He commented on the start of restoration works on the damaged external power lines of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.“It’s a very strange story. Doesn’t it seem odd to you that a truce was agreed upon and the Russians suddenly care about radiation safety? The intrigue is simple. The Zaporizhzhia NPP was originally supplied from Ukraine’s power grid — four lines, as I recall, of 110 kV, 330 kV, and 750 kV, which provided electricity for its own needs, safety systems, ventilation, cooling, and so on,” Plachkov said.The expert reminded that these lines had been repeatedly damaged by Russian forces.“For three or four days — this must be the 20th blackout already. But we restored them each time, and the diesel generators shut down. This time, they are not allowing repairs. Then the IAEA got involved — Mr. Grossi said, ‘Let’s agree to a ceasefire and restore the lines from both the Ukrainian and Russian sides.’ This means the Zaporizhzhia plant will now be connected to both power systems. If they later damage the Ukrainian lines again, the plant will be powered only from the Russian side. The next step will be, ‘Let’s restart the power unit to supply energy to Russia,’” the former minister concluded.On September 23, the Zaporizhzhia NPP suffered its tenth blackout since being occupied by Russian troops in 2022.On October 9, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi announced the start of restoration of external power supply to the Russian-occupied plant from Ukraine’s grid.On October 18, Grossi reported that work had begun to repair the damaged external power lines after four weeks of disconnection.