The head of the UN atomic energy agency warned on Monday in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the dangerous situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was “not improving” due to fighting in the area.
At the meeting, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency – IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi, quoted by The Associated Press, said that the situation at the nuclear power plant remains tense due to the strong military presence around it and that recently at the facility, which has been happening since last year it was dominated by Russian forces.
The head of the nuclear agency met with Volodymyr Zelensky in the city of Zaporozhye, about 50 kilometers northeast of the nuclear power plant of the same name, announcing plans to visit the nuclear plant this week, the second time after the invasion of Russia 13 months.
The Vienna-based agency has had permanent staff at the nuclear plant since September.
Six reactors at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine have been shut down and are receiving the electricity needed to prevent a reactor meltdown.
Earlier this month, power to the plant was interrupted for half a day, forcing employees to turn on backup generators, and Rafael Mariano Grossi expressed concern about this.
In January, the IAEA announced it was sending teams of experts to four Ukrainian nuclear power plants to reduce the risk of accidents, including the now closed Chernobyl nuclear power plant, whose deadly nuclear accident in 1986 had repercussions across much of Europe.
Rafael Mariano Grossi emphasized that his seventh trip to Ukraine demonstrates the commitment and support for Ukraine “for as long as necessary.”
The meeting was also attended by other IAEA officials, the head of the presidential cabinet, Andrey Yermak, and the head of the Energoatom nuclear company, Pyotr Kotin.