IAEA Director: Fears of nuclear accident at Zaporozhye rise again due to hostilities
Intensifying hostilities around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant are again increasing the threat of a nuclear disaster, warns the head of the UN nuclear watchdog. According to Rafael Grossi, over the past week, IAEA experts have heard shelling almost every day, and once they were even advised to go down to a bomb shelter, Digi24 reports.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi said on Friday that he saw with his own eyes "clear indications of military preparations" around Europe's largest nuclear power plant when he visited it three weeks ago.
"Since then, our experts stationed at the plant have frequently reported hearing detonations, sometimes suggesting intense shelling not far from the plant. I am deeply concerned about the situation at the plant," Rafael Grossi said Friday in a statement published on the IAEA's official website, according to Agerpres.
Fears of a nuclear accident have grown amid Ukraine's expected military counter-offensive to retake territory occupied by Russian forces. The Zaporozhye region is seen as a possible hot spot in the Ukrainian military's counterattack.
The six-reactor plant, occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, must not be used as a base for launching attacks, nor should it come under fire, said Rafael Grossi, again calling for increased measures to protect the sensitive site. He said he would continue to negotiate with both the Russians and the Ukrainians on the matter.
Last summer, regular shelling in the area of the plant led to some external power problems. The diesel generators were used for their own needs, "a last line of defence to prevent a meltdown of fuel in the reactor". For safety reasons, the plant was shut down last year and transferred to a "cold state". But this does not eliminate the danger of an accident, warns the Vienna-based IAEA.
Zaporozhye situation "continues to deteriorate"
The IAEA chief recalled that the Zaporozhye plant now relies on a single power line with a capacity of 750 kilovolts to cool the reactors and ensure the operation of other safety systems. Before the war, the plant had four such lines, says Rafael Grossi.
The Ukrainian energy ministry said on 18 April that the situation at the Zaporozhye plant was continuing to deteriorate, particularly in terms of the plant's technical operation.
According to estimates by the Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom, the damage to the company from the damage amounted to 32 billion hryvnias, with the property and infrastructure of the Zaporozhye plant occupied by Russian troops and other separate units.
There is also "secret American technology" at the Zaporozhye nuclear plant, and the US has warned Russia not to touch it.
