The situation at Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, is “completely out of control,” said the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, calling on Russia and Ukraine to allow experts to reach the area to avoid a nuclear accident, writes the Associated Press.

Rafael Grossi said in an interview with the Associated Press on Tuesday, as quoted by news.ro, that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia power plant in the southeastern city of Energodar, which Russian forces seized earlier this month, is becoming increasingly dangerous. March

“All principles of nuclear safety were violated. What is at stake is extremely serious, extremely serious and dangerous,” Grossi said.

Grossi cited multiple security breaches at the plant, adding that it is “in a place where there is an ongoing war” near territory controlled by Russia.

The physical integrity of the plant had not been respected, he said, citing bombings at the start of the war when the plant was seized and mutual accusations by Ukraine and Russia of masterminding the Zaporizhzhia attacks.

There is a “paradoxical situation” where the station is controlled by Russia but its Ukrainian personnel continue to direct nuclear operations, leading to inevitable moments of friction and potential violence, Grossi said.

Experts must check the condition of the nuclear material

While the IAEA has some contacts with staff, they are “flawed” and “inconsistent”, he also said.

Grossi added that the supply chain for equipment and parts was interrupted, “so we are not sure that the plant is getting everything it needs.”

The IAEA also has to conduct inspections to make sure nuclear material is protected, “and there is a lot of nuclear material that needs to be inspected,” he noted.

“When we put it all together, we have a lot of things that should never happen at any nuclear facility. And that’s the reason why we’ve insisted from day one that we should be able to go there to do that safety and security assessment and do the repairs and help, like we did in Chernobyl,” Grossi recalled.

Experts say that a nuclear accident is possible

The IAEA should go to Zaporizhzhia “to prevent a nuclear accident”, according to the director of the UN nuclear agency.

Grossi said he and his team needed protection to get to the plant and urgent cooperation from Russia and Ukraine.

Each side wants this international mission to depart from different locations, which is understandable in light of territorial integrity and political considerations, but the IAEA team’s visit to Zaporizhzhia is urgent, Grossi argued.

“The IAEA will prevent any act of violence against this nuclear power plant with its presence. Therefore, as an international civil servant, as the head of an international organization, I ask both sides to allow this mission to continue,” Grossi concluded.

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