The head of the UN Atomic Energy Agency, Raphael Grossi, who had to go through a Russian checkpoint to get to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is near the front line, said the situation on the ground was “serious” but that cooling water levels were sufficient after the Kakhovskaya blast dams, Reuters reports, News.ro reports.

“We have a political agreement that was formulated in the Security Council (UN). At this stage, it would be impossible to reach a written agreement because, as far as we know, there are no peace talks or ceasefire talks between the parties,” said Rafael Grossi . , TASS news agency cites.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspected the condition of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant after last week’s devastating breach of the Kakhovka Dam, located downstream of the Dnipro River.

The plant uses a cooling pool to prevent potentially catastrophic overheating of the six reactors that are currently shut down. According to officials, Kakhov Reservoir was normally used to refill the cooling basin, but that cannot be done now because of the drop in water levels after the spill. Instead, the cooling pond, which is separate from the reservoir, can be fed by deep underground wells, they say.

The head of the IAEA passed through the Russian control filter to get to the plant

Grossi, who had to go through a Russian checkpoint to get to the nuclear plant, which is located near the front line, was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying that the situation at the facility was “serious” but that cooling water levels were sufficient.

Oleksiy Likhatsev, head of Russia’s state-run nuclear power company Rosatom, was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying that during his visit, Grossi observed the security measures taken at the plant to ensure its safety after the dam burst.

Grossi also said that IAEA inspectors will remain in place.

“On the one hand, we see that the situation is serious, the consequences exist and are real,” Grossi explained after three hours at the plant in Zaporizhzhia, reports AFP. “At the same time, measures are being taken to stabilize the situation,” he added, without clarifying what exactly the measures were.

On his third visit to the plant since the start of the war, Grossi said he was able to see the cooling basin, sprinkler network and ducts that make up the plant’s main cooling system.

Grossi’s trip to the plant in Zaporizhzhia was postponed for a day due to security concerns amid intense fighting in the area between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

Russian forces seized both the nuclear plant and the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam shortly after Vladimir Putin sent troops to invade Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

Grossi has repeatedly called for an end to hostilities near the nuclear facility to avoid any catastrophic accident.