Zaporizhia
IAEA experts travel to Ukrainian nuclear power plant
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located in south-eastern Ukraine. Russian troops control the area. photo
© Uncredited/Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP/dpa
The diplomatic wrangling over a visit by IAEA experts to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant seems to be over. According to the authorities, the experts are on their way. The trip is of great importance for the safe operation of the plant.
After a lengthy tug-of-war, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) travel to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. “I am proud to lead this mission, which will be at the nuclear power plant later this week,” tweeted IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Monday morning with a photo of the 14-strong team. The day had come, the support and aid mission to Zaporizhia was on its way. “We must protect the safety of the largest nuclear facility in Ukraine and Europe.”
A trip by IAEA experts has been under discussion for months, but has so far failed due to a lack of security guarantees and disputes about the modalities of the visit. Details of the mission’s schedule and route were not initially released. The IAEA, founded in 1957, monitors the civil use of nuclear power and supports the safe operation of the plants. The authority under the umbrella of the UN based in Vienna has around 170 member states.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe with six reactors in southern Ukraine has been occupied by Russian troops since March. The power plant site is repeatedly shelled, for which Russia and Ukraine accuse each other. The international community fears a possible nuclear accident.
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.
Drone shot down directly over reactor
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. In addition, the IAEA would 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.