Grossi described the situation at Ukraine's nuclear power plants as extremely difficult
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi stated that the situation at Ukrainian nuclear power plants remains “extremely difficult” due to ongoing threats to the safety of nuclear facilities.
During a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Grossi drew attention to a recent strike by a Russian drone on a spent nuclear fuel storage facility near the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
According to him, part of the fuel reception building sustained significant structural damage, while containers with spent nuclear fuel are located just a few hundred meters from the point of impact.
“An attack on a facility containing large quantities of nuclear materials is extremely dangerous. This should not happen,” the IAEA chief emphasized.
Separately, Grossi expressed concern about the situation at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. According to him, the plant has been operating for several months with only one backup external power line following damage sustained in March.
He reported that a local ceasefire agreement had recently been reached between Ukraine and Russia to allow for work on restoring the “Dniprovska” power line, which is crucial for the plant’s stable power supply.
Grossi also noted that the Zaporizhzhia NPP has already experienced its 18th external power outage since the start of the full-scale war. The latest power outage lasted about 15 hours, forcing the plant to use emergency diesel generators to cool the six shut-down reactors.
Source: IAEA, Sky News.
The Joint Forces Operation Headquarters denied Russian allegations of alleged shelling of the ZNPP territory by the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The Ukrainian Armed Forces emphasized that Ukraine did not strike the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. According to them, the reports disseminated by the Russian side are part of an information campaign, while Russia itself continues to use the occupied ZNPP as a tool for nuclear blackmail and a military facility.
