"Precarious situation"

Zaporizhia nuclear power plant: IAEA chief wants to meet Putin

The safety situation at the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia is tense - Europe's largest nuclear power plant is currently only supplied with a single power line for cooling the nuclear material. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, wants to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week about the "very, very precarious situation". 

The Director General explained during a press conference on the sidelines of a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Monday that he wanted to travel to Russia on Tuesday to talk to the Kremlin leader. 

Experts: "Physical integrity remains at risk"
Russian troops occupied the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant at the beginning of March 2022. Since then, nine of the original ten lines that supplied the plant near the front line with electricity have failed due to the war. An IAEA team is constantly on site to monitor the situation at the largely decommissioned power plant. The experts reported military activities in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant at the weekend. "The physical integrity of the power plant remains at risk," said Grossi.

Safety zone around nuclear power plant never implemented
The IAEA chief had met Putin in October 2022 to negotiate the establishment of a safety zone around the nuclear power plant. Grossi's plan was never implemented, partly due to resistance from Ukraine. Instead, Grossi has since proclaimed principles for preventing a nuclear accident in Zaporizhia at the UN Security Council. According to these principles, the facility may not be fired upon, nor may it be used as a base for attacks.

In a recent report for the Board of Governors, Grossi complained that the IAEA team on site was not allowed to move freely around the facility to check that no weapons systems were stationed there. He also pointed to the significant drop in staffing levels, delayed maintenance work and lack of spare parts in Zaporizhia under Russian management.