The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi is expected this Wednesday at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, occupied by Russian forces and whose security the international community fears.
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Rafael Grossi and his delegation should arrive at the site in the morning and leave in the afternoon, according to the Tass agency quoting an official from the Russian operator Rosenergoatom.
This is Rafael Grossi's second visit to Zaporizhia, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, since the start of the conflict in February 2022. Arriving in Ukraine earlier this week, the IAEA chief will have to cross the line head-on to penetrate the facilities under Russian control.
Power plant in a “precarious state”
The IAEA has had a team of experts inside the plant since September 2022. Rafael Grossi has been consulting with Kiev and Moscow for several months to set up a protection zone around the site, which is regularly hit by strikes and the victim of repeated power cuts.
Ukraine, for its part, believes that only the withdrawal of the Russian army and personnel from the plant would guarantee nuclear security.
As for Russia, it accuses kyiv of wanting to take over the site by force.
On March 22, Rafael Grossi warned that the plant was in a “
precarious state
”.
According to the IAEA, the “
last emergency power line
”, damaged since March 1, remains “
disconnected and under repair
”.
However, as a last resort, it makes it possible to ensure nuclear safety and security in Zaporozhjia, in particular by cooling its reactors.
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The plant depends on electricity supplied by a single main external 750 kV line, and any damage (to this line) will result in the total loss of all offsite power to the plant, again according to the IAEA.
On March 9, the gigantic power plant was cut off from the Ukrainian electricity grid for 11 hours after a Russian strike.
Emergency diesel generators had been switched on to ensure a minimum supply of security systems, according to the Ukrainian operator Energoatom, which had warned of the risk of a nuclear accident.
“
We are playing with fire
,” warned Rafael Grossi.
The head of diplomacy of the European Union Josep Borell had estimated for his part that "
Russia endangers the security of the entire European continent, Russia included
".
18 air raids
Electricity is essential to run the pumps ensuring the circulation of water.
Because it is necessary to constantly cool the fuel in the reactor cores as well as that placed in the storage pools, to avoid a meltdown accident and radioactive releases into the environment, in a scenario identical to that of Fukushima in Japan after the tsunami. of March 2011.
Rafael Grossi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had already visited together on Monday a hydroelectric station in the Zaporizhia region, responsible for supplying the nuclear power plant with electricity.
The Ukrainian army recorded 18 Russian airstrikes, three missile strikes and 50 multiple rocket launcher attacks for the day on Tuesday, the general staff said on Wednesday morning.
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Russia has also revived the rhetoric of threats against Sweden and Finland, candidates for NATO membership, a diplomat asserting that these countries would become "
legitimate targets
".
"
After the accession of Finland and Sweden, the total length of the borders between Russia and NATO will almost double
", argued Ambassador Viktor Tatarintsev in a text posted on the mission's website. Russian in Sweden.
"
If it still seems to anyone that this will somehow improve Europe's security, rest assured that the new members of the hostile bloc will become a legitimate target for Russian retaliatory measures, including including those of a military nature
,” the diplomat warned.
The candidacies of Finland and Sweden, turning the page on decades of neutrality and then out of military alliances, are a direct consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
