International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi warned this Thursday that the situation around the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporozhye, which has been controlled by Russian forces since March, remains “very fragile.”
“Unfortunately, the situation remains very fragile and unstable,” Grossi warned after meeting with Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev.
The head of the UN nuclear agency specified that this Thursday the rotation of IAEA employees was supposed to take place at this plant, but this did not happen.
“One group was supposed to leave the center and the other to enter. Unfortunately, the exchange had to be postponed due to the situation in the region, strong explosions,” Grossi specified, quoted by RIA Novosti.
Rosatom’s director general, on the other hand, expressed confidence in the “very urgent” creation of a security zone around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
“Despite the highly politicized climate around the topic, the agency maintains its professional position and is looking for a real solution to the problem. We really appreciate the presence of IAEA specialists in the center,” Likhachev assured.
The Russian nuclear agency said Likhachev informed Grossi of “the measures being taken by the Russian side” to ensure the plant’s safety and “comfortable living conditions” for his crew and their families.
The operation of the nuclear power plant is still guaranteed thanks to Ukrainian technicians who were offered new contracts by Russia, adding them to the Rosatom-controlled corporation, following Russia’s September 2022 annexation of Zaporozhye, which Ukraine and allies consider illegal. Westerners.
The plant was periodically bombed, for which Moscow and Kyiv bear mutual responsibility.
The IAEA has proposed creating a demilitarized zone around the nuclear power plant, where the UN agency established a permanent presence last year, but there is still no agreement between the parties.
The last time the IAEA Director General was in Moscow was in December 2022, when he met with Likhachev.
In January, Grossi traveled to Kyiv, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the security situation in Zaporozhye and the deployment of IAEA missions to other nuclear power plants in the country.
All six of the station’s reactors remain shut down, while two remain in warm shutdown to supply steam and heat to the site and the nearby city of Energodar.
The station also continues to receive external electricity needed for basic safety functions.
The military offensive launched by Russia on February 24, 2022 in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced people and more than eight million to European countries – according to the latest UN figures. which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
At the moment, at least 17.7 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance, and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and housing.
The Russian invasion, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security, was condemned by the international community at large, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
The UN presented 7,155 civilian deaths and 11,662 wounded as confirmed since the start of the war, stressing that these figures are far from real.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.