The CEO of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is visiting the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia. Russian troops have occupied the power station since the beginning of the war.
Grossi and the international community remain concerned about the security of the site.
Rafael Grossi, the chief executive of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has arrived at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
Since February last year, the Russians have occupied the nuclear power plant and are regularly hit by attacks and repeated power cuts. This poor security raises fears of a nuclear accident.
That is why Grossi has been discussing with Kyiv and Moscow for months to set up a protection zone around the nuclear power plant. However, no breakthrough is expected during the visit of the IAEA chief.
For example, an adviser to the management of the Russian operator Rosenergoatom tempered expectations regarding Grossi’s visit. He minimized the chance of a breakthrough in the negotiations.
“We are far from under the illusion that Grossi’s visit will radically change things,” Renat Kartchaa told Russia’s state news agency Tass. But Kartchaa also called for the “continuation of the dialogue”.
The Ukrainian operator Energoatom said that Grossi would review “how the situation in the nuclear power plant has evolved”, and the CEO would talk to the engineers there.
According to Ukraine, nuclear safety can only be guaranteed through the withdrawal of the Russians from the plant. But Russia, for its part, is refusing any withdrawal from a territory it claims to have annexed. Instead, Moscow accuses Kyiv of wanting to take back the region by force regardless of the risk of a nuclear disaster.