The UN agency expressed its concerns in a report released on Tuesday, the day after the disconnection of the plant’s last reactor from the electricity grid.
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We must act quickly. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has come out in favor of setting up a “safety zone” to prevent a nuclear accident at the Ukrainian power plant in Zaporizhia, occupied for six months by the Russians and where she judges the situation “untenable”. “It is urgent to take provisional measures”estimated the UN agency in a report made public on Tuesday, September 6, advocating “the establishment of a nuclear security and protection zone” of this complex in southern Ukraine.
“The bombardments on the site and in the surrounding area must stop immediately to avoid causing further damage to the installations”she insisted, pointing out “extremely stressful conditions” in which Ukrainian personnel work, under the control of the Russian military. The plant has been hit in recent weeks by multiple strikes – of which kyiv and Moscow accuse each other – at the risk of causing a serious nuclear accident.
The IAEA report stems from its recent mission to the Zaporizhia power plant. The agency’s general manager, Rafael Grossi, “will report to the UN Security Council”. The publication of its conclusions also comes the day after the disconnection of the last reactor in operation in this complex. A power line, connected to a nearby thermal power plant, has indeed “was deliberately disconnected in order to put out a fire”, explained the IAEA. According to the Ukrainian operator Energoatom, the fire “declared itself because of the bombardments”.
>> What does the “violation of the physical integrity of the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant” mentioned by the director of the IAEA mean?
After many negotiations, an IAEA delegation was able to inspect the site last Thursday. Rafael Grossi then told the press that he had noticed that “physical integrity” infrastructure had been “repeatedly raped”. On Tuesday, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk called for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor for civilians wishing to leave the area around the plant.