Europe’s biggest Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP), located in Russian-occupied territory, is “completely out of control” and the situation there is “very tense”, said Rafael, director general of the International Nuclear Energy Agency (IAEA). ), to the AP. .Grosi on Wednesday, August 3rd.

“All nuclear safety principles were violated at the station. What is at stake is extremely serious and dangerous,” Grossi said. The physical integrity of the station was violated, he said, citing bombings at the beginning of the war, when the nuclear plant was taken over by Russian forces.

According to Grossi, a “paradoxical situation” has arisen at the plant, where the nuclear plant is controlled by Russia, but Ukrainian personnel continue to manage their work, which leads to inevitable tension. While the IAEA has some contacts with officials, they are “imperfect” and “non-uniform,” Grossi said.

IAEA ‘begs’ to let agency enter station

The IAEA chief also said that the agency is not confident that the nuclear plant will receive everything it needs, as the supply chains for equipment and spare parts have been disrupted.

“To prevent a nuclear accident,” the IAEA needs to inspect nuclear plants to ensure that nuclear material is protected, Grossi urged. “And that’s why I insisted from day one that we could go there to do this safety and security assessment, do repairs and provide assistance, as we already did in Chernobyl,” he said, urging Russia and Ukraine for cooperation.

“I ask as an international civil servant, as the head of an international organization, I ask both sides to allow this mission to be carried out,” Grossi said.

Earlier, in an interview with DW, the IAEA director called organizing such a trip under current conditions a “difficult task”. The reason is that the station is located in a war zone where bombing continues, and the mission must be controlled not only by the UN but also by Ukraine, as the IAEA considers this country “the only legitimate owner of the nuclear plant. “