The director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the security level at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian military occupation in Ukraine, is like a “red flash” that his organization is trying in vain to gain access to at the site.
Rafael Grossi said the IAEA needed access to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine so its inspectors could, among other things, restore the site’s links with the UN agency’s Vienna-based headquarters.
Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors give it one of the largest nuclear power capacities in the world, and Russia’s invasion has essentially turned parts of the country into a nuclear minefield.
Since the invasion, nuclear experts have watched with alarm as Russian forces have come uncomfortably close to several nuclear power plants in Ukraine.
Grossi said the Zaporizhia plant needed repairs.
“There are two units that are active, in active operation… others being repaired or cooling down. And there are some activities, technical activities and also inspection activities that need to be done,” Grossi said.
“So the situation as I have described it and I would repeat it today is not sustainable,” he said.
“So this is a pending issue. A red light is flashing here.”
As the Russian attack on Ukraine continues, members of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps fire a howitzer at a position in Zaporizka region, Ukraine [File: Stanislav Yurchenko/Reuters]
The IAEA chief spoke on the issue in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, a day after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Understandably, my Ukrainian colleagues do not want the IAEA inspectors to go to one of their own facilities under the authority of a third power,” Grossi said.
“I had a long talk with President Zelenskyy about this last night, and it is something that will require further consultations. We’re not there yet.”
The IAEA chief said he continues to press the Russian government for access to the Zaporizhia plant.
“I don’t see any movement in that direction right now,” he said.
But he will meet with the Russian side “soon”.
‘Unprecedented’
A security worker at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant recounted how Russian planes flew over the damaged reactor site and Russian troops dug trenches in highly radioactive soil. Russian cruise missiles flew over the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant in western Ukraine on Monday.
“There must be no military action in or around a nuclear power plant,” Grossi said, adding that he had appealed to Russia on the matter.
“This is unprecedented for a war to unfold in the midst of one of the largest nuclear infrastructures in the world, which naturally leads to a number of points of vulnerability or vulnerability that could of course be exploited knowingly or unknowingly,” he added.
“So this requires a lot of activity on our part and collaboration. Cooperation from the Russian side. Understanding from the Ukrainian side so that we can avoid an accident.”
A shelter construction covers the exploded reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear plan [File: Efrem Lukatsky/AP Photo]
“Can’t Afford to Quit”
Regarding Iran’s nuclear issue, Grossi said his agency is still trying to get answers from Tehran to open questions concerning traces of man-made enriched uranium at three sites in the country.
Iran and the IAEA have tried to resolve a number of issues between them since the collapse of the Tehran nuclear deal with world powers, including regaining access to surveillance camera footage at nuclear sites in the country.
He acknowledged that Iran’s ability to enrich uranium has expanded since the deal failed, as it uses more advanced centrifuges. Tehran recently moved a centrifuge workshop to its underground Natanz nuclear facility following a suspected Israeli attack.
“They move the production capacity of the centrifuge to a place where they feel more protected,” Grossi said.
Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is peaceful.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, combined with US and European support for Ukraine in the conflict, has heightened tensions between Russia and the West, but it is “imperative that we seek common ground despite these difficulties,” he said grandi.
“We cannot afford to stop. We have to keep going. It is in the interest of the world,” he said of global nuclear safety.