The U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency chief is visiting Russia amid concern about a Ukrainian nuclear power plant caught in the crossfire since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.
Quick Read
- Rafael Mariano Grossi, the IAEA Director-General, is visiting Russia to discuss nuclear safety concerns in Ukraine, particularly regarding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, which has been in the conflict zone since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
- Grossi, who arrived in Sochi on Tuesday, held “intensive” talks with Russian officials from Rosatom, and the foreign and defense ministries, aiming to evaluate the nuclear plant’s situation.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to meet Grossi during his visit.
- Grossi’s visit follows a trip to Ukraine in February, where he visited the Zaporizhzhia plant and met with President Zelenskyy, as part of ongoing efforts to avert a nuclear disaster amid the conflict.
- The IAEA has repeatedly expressed concerns about the plant’s safety, emphasizing the need for power and qualified staff to operate essential cooling systems and other safety features.
- Grossi aims to discuss “technical issues” and the “future operational status” of the plant, including safety evaluations and external power supply lines, given the plant’s previous power outages and reliance on emergency generators.
- Staffing challenges persist, with nearly 5,200 workers leaving since the Russian takeover, and qualified Ukrainian employees being replaced with Russian workers or locals with limited nuclear plant knowledge.
The Associated Press has the story:
UN atomic watchdog’s head in Russia to discuss safety of Ukrainian nuclear plant
Newslooks- MOSCOW (AP) —
The U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency chief is visiting Russia amid concern about a Ukrainian nuclear power plant caught in the crossfire since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.
IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi arrived at the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Tuesday evening, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti for talks on nuclear safety in Ukraine. Grossi announced the trip on Monday, the first day of a regular meeting of the agency’s 35-nation board of governors in Vienna.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed alarm about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, amid fears of a potential nuclear catastrophe.
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for months, but it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial cooling systems and other safety features.
Speaking to reporters in Sochi on Wednesday, the IAEA chief said he had a “very intensive and exhaustive working session” with Russian officials, including from Russia’s state nuclear energy agency Rosatom and the foreign and defense ministries.
“This gave me, and gave us, I think, an opportunity to evaluate the situation at the nuclear power plant,” he said.
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin will also meet with Grossi during his visit.
Grossi visited Ukraine in February and crossed the front line to visit the Russian-held plant as part of the IAEA’s efforts to prevent a nuclear disaster amid ongoing hostilities. He also held a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The IAEA chief last met with Putin in October 2022.
Before heading to Russia, Grossi told reporters in Vienna that he considered it important to maintain a dialogue with both sides and added that the situation with the Zaporizhzhia plant “continues to be very fragile.”
He said that he expected to discuss “technical issues” related to “the future operational status of the plant” in Moscow. He also said if the plant is to be restarted, he would need to discuss “what kind of safety evaluation” would be needed and that he planned to discuss the issue of external power supply lines.
The plant has suffered eight losses of off-site power since the seizure, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators temporarily, and it continues to face challenges related to staffing.
Ukraine’s Energoatom, which operates all of the country’s nuclear power plants, has repeatedly said Russia restricted qualified Ukrainian staffers from accessing the Zaporizhzhia plant after they refused Russian citizenship and to sign a contract with Rosatom.
Nearly 5,200 workers left the plant since Russia took over in March 2022, according to Petro Kotin, Energoatom’s Acting Board Chairman. Kotin said in a statement Tuesday that at the beginning of the year, 360 Ukrainian employees — who didn’t have contracts with Rosatom — were still working at the plant, but starting February they couldn’t access the facility anymore.
Kotin said Ukrainian staffers were replaced with Russian workers or residents of Russian-controlled cities and towns nearby “who do not understand what a nuclear power plant is.”
