Concerns that the Zaporizhia NPP could be severely damaged by shelling remain even after the IAEA's visit. More fights are being reported nearby. However, important security elements seem to be intact for the time being, says IAEA boss Grossi after the first inventory.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, drew a partly positive conclusion after the visit to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant (NPP) Zaporizhia. Although damage caused by the shelling of the power plant is obvious and unacceptable, important safety elements such as the power supply to the power plant are working, Grossi said on Friday evening after returning from Ukraine at Vienna Airport.
The cooperation between the Russian occupiers and the Ukrainian personnel also works to some extent on a professional level. His greatest concern remains that the nuclear power plant could be severely damaged by further shelling. He expects a detailed analysis of the safety of the power plant by the experts who remain on site in the course of the next week, said Grossi.
Six IAEA experts are still at the nuclear power plant. Four would return, with two staying on site until further notice. He doesn't have the impression that the Russian occupiers have hidden anything. "We saw everything I wanted to see," he said. A crucial difference to before is also that he now learns from his own sources what is happening on site.
The IAEA chief emphasized again that he sees his agency's mission as permanent. "The IAEA is there to stay as long as necessary." The Ukraine and Russia currently agree to this. He knows things could change. What worries him most at the moment is that the war around the power plant is increasing in intensity, Grossi said. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe was occupied by Russian troops just a few weeks after the start of the war. The international community is concerned that acts of war could lead to a nuclear accident.
How serious the situation is became clear again on Friday. According to the Ukraine, Russian artillery positions were fired not far from the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. "It is confirmed that our troops destroyed three enemy artillery systems in the area of the towns of Cherson and Enerhodar with precise hits," the Ukrainian General Staff report said on Facebook. An ammunition depot and at least one company of the Russian army were also said to have been destroyed.
According to the information, the Russian occupying forces removed all military technology from the site of the nuclear power plant before the group of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived. This had been moved to the neighboring towns. The information could not be independently verified. Russia has always maintained that it has no heavy weapons stationed at the nuclear power plant.
Russia and Ukraine repeatedly blame each other for artillery fire. With its six blocks and a net output of 5700 megawatts, the nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Before the Russian invasion, which started at the end of February, more than 10,000 people worked at the nuclear power plant.
