Amid the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus who ordered Vladimir Putin, a new cause for concern was added in the conflict that Russia and Ukraine have been waging for more than a year. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Argentine Rafael Grossi, warned about the growth of military activity around Zaporizhia, the largest nuclear plant of Europe.
Grossi is in Ukraine as part of the preventive actions carried out by the agency in the midst of the Russian invasion. Present in Dnipro, a city located in the east of the country, the specialist pointed out that the situation is not improving in Zaporizhia, occupied by Russian troops. The IAEA director, who had already announced in September that the situation was “unsustainable”, affirmed that “Military activity is increasing.”
Speaking to CNNGrossi maintained that the situation is very worrying. “There is a growing number of troops and military vehicles, heavy artillery and more military action around the plant.“, accurate. In addition, he indicated that the plant has been experiencing blackouts “repeatedly.”
Grossi announced that he will cross “in a few hours the front line” to get closer to Zaporizhia, just like they did last year. “I am going to continue with my consultations to try to establish protection around the plant and avoid a nuclear accident with possible catastrophic consequences”, he expressed.
It will be the second time that the organization’s director general, accompanied by a group of experts, the seventh of its kind since the support mission began working at the plant, has visited the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and the first since the deployment of the permanent presence of the IAEA, on September 1st.
“I want to see the situation for myself and speak with the operational managers of the plant, who are under Russian command,” Grossi said.
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenskyvisited positions close to the combat front in the Zaporizhia region on Monday and met on that occasion with Grossi, with whom he also shared the situation of the Dnieper hydroelectric power station.
Grossi -who was re-elected as head of the international agency- pointed out over the weekend that his trip also seeks to guarantee a regular rotation of IAEA experts to and from the plant after the problems that affected the February rotation, delayed almost a month.
The Zaporizhia plant has recently suffered several power outages that have affected its operation. In fact, on March 9, the gigantic plant, occupied by the Russian army, was left isolated from the Ukrainian power grid for 11 hours after a Russian attack.
Diesel generators were turned on to provide a minimum of power to safety systems, according to the state atomic energy company Energoatom, which warned of the risk of a nuclear accident. “we are playing with fire”, Grossi had warned on that occasion.
The high representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, repudiated the situation. “It is a serious violation of nuclear security caused by Russia. Zaporizhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and Russia is endangering the security of the entire European continent”.
Without electricity from these generators, overheating of reactor fuel can lead to a nuclear accidenta scenario similar to that of the Fukushima, Japan, plant in 2011.
The plant is located in the city of Energodar, on the Dnieper. Owns six of Ukraine’s 15 reactors, capable of supplying electricity to four million homes. Its six Soviet-made VVER-1000 reactors entered service between 1984 and 1995, with a total power of 6,000 MW.
Before the Russian invasion, generated about a quarter of Ukraine’s electricity. The country, which has significant uranium reserves, is the world’s seventh largest producer of nuclear energy, according to the IAEA.
The site, close to the Crimean peninsula (annexed by Russia in 2014), was taken by Russian troops on March 4, a few days after the start of the invasion, on February 24. Since then, the facilities have suffered “significant damage” and subsequently “the physical integrity” of the site has been “violated” repeatedly, denounced the IAEA.
THE NATION