After the repeated shelling of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia, a team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) set out there. The mission under his leadership will arrive “later this week” at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday on Twitter.
“The day has come, the IAEA Assistance and Relief Mission is now on its way to Zaporizhia,” he wrote.
Because of the repeated shelling of the nuclear power plant, for which Ukraine and Russia blame each other, fear of a nuclear catastrophe like that in Chernobyl in 1986 is growing.
IAEA experts are to investigate damage and security systems of the nuclear power plant, which was repeatedly fired upon during the Russian war of aggression.
The city of Enerhodar, which had more than 50,000 inhabitants before the Russian attack on the neighboring country, is right next to the nuclear power plant. There were new attacks there in the evening. Videos from both sides showed that numerous cars were burning in residential areas. A few hours earlier, Russian troops had allegedly shot down an armed Ukrainian drone directly over one of the six reactors.
According to Ukrainian information, the nuclear power plant was completely disconnected from the power grid on Thursday for the first time in its history. The connection was restored on Friday. The state-owned Ukrainian operating company Energoatom had named “acts of the invaders” as the reason for the disconnection from the grid with a view to the Russian army.
Experts inside and outside the IAEA are particularly concerned about the power supply to the nuclear power plant, which is used to cool the nuclear material. Only one of the four power lines was still intact. So far, no radioactivity has escaped in Zaporizhia. According to the IAEA, however, all principles of plant safety have been violated in recent months.
IAEA experts now want to examine the safety systems and the damage to the nuclear power plant themselves because the information from Kyiv and Moscow on this was often contradictory. The IAEA would also like to get an idea of ​​the working conditions of the Ukrainian nuclear plant employees who have been doing their jobs under the control of the Russian occupying forces for months. On top of that, IAEA inspectors want to make sure that all nuclear material is still in place.
The situation at the nuclear power plant had recently deteriorated sharply. Several artillery shells reportedly fell in the town of Enerhodar, where the power plant employees live, on Sunday evening. As in the previous days, the Russian and Ukrainian sides blamed each other for the shelling.
Enerhodar, which was founded specifically for the power plant in the early 1970s, had around 50,000 inhabitants before the Russian war of aggression. A few hours earlier, Russian troops had allegedly shot down an armed Ukrainian drone directly over one of the six reactors.
Russia complained that Ukraine wanted to prevent a visit by IAEA experts to the nuclear power plant with such steps. The escaped Ukrainian mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlow, spoke of a provocation: Russian troops had fired. He accused Moscow of “nuclear blackmail” because Russian troops entrenched themselves in the nuclear power plant.
