IAEA: Nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia currently not a threat

Created: 08/12/2022, 00:22

A Russian soldier guards an area of ​​the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

The photo was taken during a trip organized by the Russian Defense Ministry.

© -/AP/dpa

The situation at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia is extremely dangerous because of the ongoing shelling.

Now the UN Security Council has also gotten involved - Moscow has announced that it wants to cooperate.

New York/Kyiv/Moscow – According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia, which is under constant fire, is currently not a security risk.

“IAEA experts have provisionally determined that there is no imminent security threat as a result of the shelling or other military action.

However, this can change at any time,” said IAEA chief Rafael Grossi at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in New York.

Just a few hours before the session of the most powerful UN body requested by Russia, Europe's largest nuclear power plant came under fire again.

Zaporizhia was attacked with heavy artillery and rocket launchers, a representative of the Russian occupation authorities, Vladimir Rogov, said on the Telegram news channel.

Shots are fired from towns under Ukrainian control.

The Ukrainian company Enerhoatom reported ten impacts in the vicinity.

The information could not be verified.

Earlier, Ukraine had accused Russia of targeting the nuclear power plant.

Experts should get a picture of the situation

Before the Security Council, Grossi called on Moscow and Kyiv to quickly allow international experts to visit.

"Personally, I am ready to lead such a mission." Without the physical presence of representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency, important facts could not be gathered.

The United States was also pushing for a trip by experts: "This visit can't wait any longer," said US Undersecretary for Arms Control Bonnie Jenkins.

Russia's UN Ambassador Wassili Nebensya promised Moscow's cooperation: "We are ready to provide any support we can think of in solving organizational matters." A visit should ideally take place in August.

After the meeting, Nebensia emphasized that no country on the 15-member Security Council blamed Russia for the shelling of the nuclear power plant.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres had previously warned of a new nuclear catastrophe and expressed his deep concern: "Unfortunately, there has been no de-escalation in the past few days, but reports of other deeply worrying incidents.

If this continues, it could lead to a catastrophe.” He appealed to both warring parties to stop military activities immediately.

The worst nuclear accident on European soil occurred in the Ukrainian Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986.

The Russian war against the neighboring country has now lasted more than five and a half months.

UN spokesman: "Nuclear power plant in the middle of a battlefield"

It was unclear whether a group of UN experts could be sent to the nuclear power plant.

"We are talking about a nuclear power plant in the middle of a battlefield," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

This raises enormous security concerns for United Nations employees.

According to the operator Enerhoatom, the situation in the power plant is "under control".

The radioactivity is no higher than usual. The nuclear power plant had already been fired at and damaged by rockets over the weekend.

Ukraine accuses Russian troops of using the nuclear power plant as a fortress for attacks.

The pro-Russian separatists, in turn, accuse Ukraine of wanting to persuade the West to intervene by shelling the power plant.

Rogov rejected calls by the group of seven leading industrialized nations (G7) - including Germany - to return the power plant to Ukrainian control.

"It would be like putting a hand grenade in a monkey's hand," he wrote.

dpa