IRIA News

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for an immediate end to any military action near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, warning of a “very real risk of a nuclear disaster”.

IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said he was “extremely concerned” by reports of shelling at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant which underlines the risk of a nuclear disaster that could threaten public health and the environment in Ukraine and beyond. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Europe’s largest nuclear facility.

“Military action jeopardizing the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is completely unacceptable and must be avoided at all costs. Any military firepower directed at or from the facility would amount to playing with fire, with potentially catastrophic consequences” he said in a statement.

The global nuclear watchdog chief said that the IAEA has received information about the shelling. Although reports from Ukraine suggest there has been no damage to the reactors themselves and no radiological release, however, there is damage elsewhere on the site. A nitrogen-oxygen station, which supports plant operations, and an auxiliary building were damaged and need to be repaired, Ukraine said.

IAEA appealed to all parties to exercise the utmost restraint in the vicinity of the nuclear facility which has six reactors. Grossi urged that the Ukrainian staff operating the plant under Russian occupation must be able to carry out their important duties without threats or pressure.

Rafael Grossi demanded an IAEA team of experts urgently be allowed to visit the plant to assess and safeguard the country’s biggest nuclear power plant. “This mission would play a crucial role in helping to stabilize the nuclear safety and security situation there, as we have at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and elsewhere in Ukraine in recent months where we have also delivered nuclear safety and security equipment that is urgently needed,” he said.

The preliminary assessment of IAEA experts suggested that the current nuclear safety and security situation at the ZNPP seemed stable, with no immediate threat, however, the IAEA will continue to closely monitor the situation.

The shelling had breached several of the seven indispensable nuclear safety and security pillars, in particular:

IAEA chief stressed the need for cooperation, understanding, and facilitation from both Ukraine and Russia to ensure the safety of the site.

• Pillar 1 (Physical integrity): Any military activity within, or in the vicinity of, a nuclear facility has the potential to cause an Unacceptable Radiological Consequence.
• Pillar 2 (All safety and security systems and equipment must be functional at all times): As a result of the shelling, emergency protection was activated at one of the units, diesel generators were set in operation, and the nitrogen-oxygen station and an auxiliary building were damaged.
• Pillar 3 (Operating Staff): This recent activity further increases the stress on the operational team.
• Pillar 4 (Power supply): This has been compromised as a result of damage to the external power supply system.
• Pillar 6 (Radiation monitoring and Emergency Preparedness and Response arrangements): In the current status of the site, this recent shelling further jeopardizes the already compromised EPR arrangements and capabilities to respond. The radiation monitoring system is still operational.

Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for shelling

Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling the plant, which was taken over by Russian forces in early March, along with the town of Enerhodar.

Ukraine said that Russian shelling had damaged three radiation sensors and hurt a worker at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, in the second hit in consecutive days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the shelling “Russian nuclear terror” that warranted more international sanctions.

“Today, the occupiers created another extremely risky situation for everyone in Europe,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Friday.

The Russian defense ministry denied the claim. Russian authorities said that Ukraine hit the site with a multiple-rocket launcher, damaging administrative buildings and the surrounding area. Russia said that the generating capacity of one unit at the plant had been decreased, and the power supply to another cut.

Meanwhile, four ships carrying grain and other agricultural products sailed from Ukrainian ports on Sunday, heading to Europe, Asia and the Middle East through the mined waters of the Black Sea. This is the biggest caravan of food ships that sailed from Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022.

Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the United Nations in July paving the way for the export of millions of tons of desperately needed Ukrainian grain to help ease the global food crisis sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war.