The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday it was “deeply concerned” by the increase in fighting around Ukraine’s Zaporijia nuclear power plant, an escalation that could trigger Ukraine’s expected counter-offensive in the region.
The agency’s mission specialists who are in Zaporijia, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, “have heard the sound of bombings almost every day for the past week,” said IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi of Argentina. , in a statement released Friday night before today.
According to Grossi, the IAEA mission team had to take refuge in one of the bombings to avoid being hit.
Located in the homonymous “oblast” (province) in southeastern Ukraine, the Zaporijia Nuclear Power Plant was occupied by Russian forces in March 2022.
Since Russia’s illegal annexation of the region in September, the nuclear power plant has been controlled by a company led by Russian operator Rosatom, although some Ukrainian technicians remain at the plant after signing new contracts.
The areas around the nuclear power plant have regularly been the target of periodic bombings causing blackouts, with emergency power provided by diesel generators.
Although all reactors are being shut down as a precaution, the IAEA believes there is still a high risk of a nuclear accident. Therefore, it urged both sides to create a demilitarized zone around the plant.
The concerns of the IAEA specialists increased with the expected counter-offensive by Ukraine to try to regain the territories held by Moscow.
“I saw clear signs of military preparations in the area when I visited the Zaporijia nuclear power plant just over three weeks ago,” Grossi said in the statement.
“Since then, our experts on the ground have regularly reported hearing explosions, sometimes indicating heavy bombing not far from their location. I am very concerned about the situation,” he said.
Grossi also said he was concerned that the reduction in staff and the absence of the necessary outside contractors, along with the lack of spare parts, meant there were more problems with the plant’s maintenance capacity.
“Currently, the nuclear power plant has only a quarter of its regular maintenance staff,” so “it has no systematic maintenance and inspection program,” he warned.
“There are even greater risks to the nuclear safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant during the military conflict, at a time when speculation is growing about imminent military offensives and counter-offensives in Ukraine’s southern region,” Grossi noted.
Source: DN
