Today at 13:16
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi has described the situation at Ukraine’s nuclear facilities as “extremely challenging,” citing recent security incidents, damage to critical infrastructure, and continuing risks associated with the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, UATV English informs, citing Sky News.
Speaking at a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Grossi highlighted several developments that underscore the fragile state of nuclear safety and security in Ukraine.
Among the incidents he referenced was a recent Russian drone strike near the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. According to Grossi, the attack damaged a spent nuclear fuel reception facility located a few kilometers from the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
He said the strike caused significant structural damage to part of the reception building, while containers holding spent nuclear fuel are stored only a few hundred meters away.
“Attacking a facility that contains large quantities of nuclear material is extremely dangerous. Such incidents must never occur,” Grossi stressed.
The IAEA chief also identified the external power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as one of the agency’s most serious concerns. The facility, which remains under Russian occupation, has been operating for months with only a single backup power line after another line was damaged earlier this year.
According to Grossi, a temporary local ceasefire was agreed upon on Friday to allow repair work on the Dniprovska power line serving the plant. Without the restoration of this connection, the external power situation at Zaporizhzhia remains highly vulnerable.
He noted that the plant recently experienced its eighteenth loss of off-site power since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The outage lasted approximately 15 hours, making it one of the longest interruptions recorded at the facility during the war.
During that period, emergency diesel generators had to be activated to maintain cooling systems for the plant’s six shut-down reactors until external electricity supplies were restored on Saturday morning.
Grossi reiterated that the continued loss of reliable external power remains one of the greatest risks to nuclear safety at the site.
The concerns come shortly after a Russian drone strike overnight on June 7 damaged infrastructure at the Centralized Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Facility in the Chornobyl zone. Ukrainian officials reported that part of the fuel container reception building was destroyed, although no spent nuclear fuel was stored inside the damaged structure.
In response, the IAEA announced plans to urgently dispatch inspectors to the facility to assess the extent of the damage and evaluate any potential safety implications.
The agency continues to monitor the situation at Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and has repeatedly warned that military activity around nuclear infrastructure poses serious risks to regional and international security.
Read also: Putin’s inner circle continues to enjoy luxury travel despite sanctions — The Wall Street Journal
