The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported Thursday that the organization’s specialists at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, in southern Ukraine, are still unable to access the facility’s roof to check for explosives. .
Members of the mission that the IAEA has been carrying out for months in Zaporojia, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and in the region where fighting has been taking place since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and recently intensified with the Ukrainians. counteroffensive, “they are still waiting for access to the roofs of the reactor buildings,” said Rafael Grossi.
The note from the UN agency indicates that in the “inspections and complementary visits to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant”, controlled by Russian troops, international specialists have so far not found the presence of “any heavy military equipment, explosives or mines”.
On July 4, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “explosive objects” were observed on the roofs of the unit’s 3 and 4 reactors, which appeared to be confirmed later by satellite images.
As a result of this alert, the IAEA intensified its inspections, but Grossi insisted that his team needs unrestricted access to the entire complex to ensure the safety of the nuclear plant.
In this Thursday’s note, the Argentine diplomat explained that, after his visits to units 1 and 3 at the beginning of July, the inspectors reviewed the unit 2 reactor building on July 17 and that of unit 4 at next day.
“In each case, the team checked the main control room, the reactor room, the spent fuel pool, the emergency control room, the rooms where the electrical cabinets of the security systems are located, and the turbine room. “, Add.
Grossi admitted that his team saw transport trucks in the turbine rooms of units 1, 2 and 4, but “there were no visible signs of explosives or mines.”
The IAEA leader also stated that “the team has not yet obtained the requested access to the roofs of the reactors and their turbine halls, including units 3 and 4, which are of special interest”, adding that the organization “continues to requesting this access”. “.
The IAEA, an autonomous body within the UN system tasked with ensuring that atomic technology is used exclusively for peaceful purposes, calls for Zaporizhia not to be used to store weapons or explosives.
The plant’s six reactors are in technical shutdown.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: TSF
