“The physical integrity of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant” in Zaporizhzhia “has been violated several times,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Raphael Grossi said on Thursday after inspecting the facility. , reports Agerpres.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)Photo: Genya Savilov / AFP / Profimedia Images

“The physical integrity of the plant was violated several times,” Grossi told reporters after returning with part of the IAEA mission to Kyiv-controlled territory.

“We don’t have the elements to assess this,” but “this is something that cannot continue to happen,” he added.

Grossi also said that several members of the IAEA mission would remain until “Sunday or Monday” to examine in detail the situation at the plant, Europe’s largest, which has been bombed several times, raising fears of a nuclear disaster.

“We have a lot of work to do to address some of the technical aspects,” he said.

The IAEA also expects to “establish a permanent presence” at the station after that date, Grossi said, without elaborating.

Arriving at the plant earlier in the day from the city of Zaporizhia after a route of about 120 kilometers, Grossi said he saw “a lot of things” in the “four or five hours” he spent at the site.

“We were able to visit the entire site. I was in the units (reactors, – ed.), I saw the emergency system and other rooms, the control room,” he enumerated, praising the Ukrainian staff who have continued to work at the station since its occupation in March by Russian troops. army

“Of course, they are in a difficult situation, but they have an incredible level of professionalism,” Grossi noted.

Finally, he described the “pretty difficult situation” of his team, which heard heavy gunfire on the way to headquarters and crossing the front line.

“There were moments when shots from large-caliber machine guns, artillery, mortars were visible two or three times, we were very worried,” admitted Rafael Grossi.

  • Read also: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency after visiting the Zaporizhzhia plant: “The key thing I needed to see, I saw it”

___

  • Follow the latest events of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro