VIENNA, March 1. /TASS/. The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) has been without back-up power for the past ten days, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said

The ZNPP "has been without back-up power for the past ten days, leaving the facility entirely dependent on its only remaining 750 kilovolt (kV)," the IAEA said in a press release, published on its website.

According to the IAEA experts stationed at the nuclear facility, the Zaporozhye NPP expects the 330 kV back-up line to be reconnected soon.

"Out of a total of 10 off-site power lines available before the conflict - four 750 kV and six 330 kV - only one remains operational today. Even if one back-up line becomes available again, it is far from sufficient," Grossi added.

On February 21, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that the ZNPP had lost the connection to its last back-up external power line, which, in his opinion, once again underlines the fragile nuclear safety and security situation at the facility. According to Grossi, the IAEA team of experts stationed at the NPP was informed that the 330 kV line was disconnected, due to a problem on the Ukrainian side.

Earlier, Yevgenia Yashina, spokeswoman for the Zaporozhye NPP, told TASS that by March 1, Ukraine had not completed repair work on the 330 kV external power line, which is a back-up one for the ZNPP.