Europe's largest nuclear plant captured by russians "out of control" – IAEA
Photo: Energoatom
All nuclear safety measures have been violated at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), which the russian invaders captured in early March.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi stated this in an interview with the Associated Press.
The UN nuclear chief warned that Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine "is completely out of control" and issued an urgent plea to russia and Ukraine to quickly allow experts to visit the sprawling complex to stabilize the situation and avoid a nuclear accident.
He also noted that the chain of supply of spare parts and equipment to the station has also been interrupted. Grossi reported that the situation at the station was becoming more and more dangerous.
The IAEA Director General emphasizes that all principles of nuclear safety are violated at the captured ZNPP, as the station is located in a war zone and was shelled at the beginning of a full-scale war.
There is "a paradoxical situation" in which russia controls the plant. Still, he said that its Ukrainian staff continues to run its nuclear operations, leading to inevitable moments of friction and alleged violence. While the IAEA has some contacts with staff, they are "faulty" and "patchy," he said.
The general director also noted that the equipment and spare parts supply chain was interrupted. He again insists that IAEA experts should conduct inspections at the station to make sure that the nuclear material is under protection.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian side urged Grossi not to visit the ZNPP since it would be possible to visit it only after it returned to the control of Ukraine. The Ukrainian side considers any other visits to the ZNPP as a legitimization of the occupiers.
IAEA Director-General Grossi has arrived in Ukraine to negotiate the safety of nuclear facilities
Event timeline at Zaporizhzhia NPP since the beginning of the war
On the night of March 4, the invaders started shooting at one of the power units of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
As a result, a fire broke out in the plant's educational and training building; it was later extinguished. russian aggressors seized the territory of the nuclear plant.
However, the station's operation is still controlled by the ZNPP staff.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the russian state concern "Rosatom" sent a group of nuclear specialists to the temporarily occupied ZNPP.
They tried to take control of the station management. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Rosatom employees wanted to leave because they did not understand the work of the Ukrainian station.
Petro Kotin, the head of the Energoatom company, reported that there were approximately 500 russian soldiers, russian equipment, explosives, etc., on the territory of the ZNPP.
The station's technical staff works under the instructions of Ukrainian specialists, but ZNPP employees are forced to coordinate all their actions with the commanders of the invaders.
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Read Rubryka's daily timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.
