On Wednesday, a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant to inspect the situation on the ground.
Previously, the IAEA Director Rafael Grossi stated that the mission of scientists and technicians plans to spend several days at the plant as his organization aspires to create a permanent representation in Zaporizhzhya.
“We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility,” he said, adding that the site visit aims to generate information that allows the IAEA to develop an assessment of the nuclear safety and security risks.
In early March, a few days after the start of their military operation, Russian troops arrived at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant to ensure their safety. Over the last month, however, the situation has become tense with frequent Ukrainian attacks around the facility. To avoid any accident, the plant was temporarily disconnected from the electricity grid this week.
A strange game. #NATO demands #Russia leave the “Russian-held #Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant”, #Kiev shells the plant, falsely blames the Russians, then gets surprised that Russia disconnects it from the #Ukraine network. #IAEA officials to visit soon. pic.twitter.com/GKYqM54NQG
— tim anderson (@timand2037) August 29, 2022
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Grossi to discuss the IAEA mission to Zaporizhzhia, which is a necessary step to avoid any radioactive incident at the facility that could have global consequences.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP is one of Europe’s largest nuclear power plants. It has been controlled by Russian forces since early March, but its Ukrainian staff has continued to operate it. In recent weeks, Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations of strikes on the facility.
The IAEA mission to the plant is set to assess the plant’s physical damage, determine its safety and security systems’ functionality, evaluate staff conditions, and perform urgent safeguarding activities.
