The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned today that the situation in the Ukrainian city of Energodar, home to workers nuclear power plant her Zaporozhyebecomes increasingly unreliable and threatens the “operational safety” of the plant.

Due to explosions in Energodar, there was a power outage, as explained by the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi. “This is absolutely unacceptable. This cannot continue,” he stressed, repeating that he calls for “immediately stopping the shelling in this area.”

“This is the only way to ensure the safety of personnel and allow the restoration of power supply to Energodar and the nuclear power plant,” he added.

For several weeks, confusion reigned around the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, captured by the Russians. Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for the explosions in the region.

“The electricity infrastructure supplying the city was destroyed due to a bombardment at the height of the thermal power plant, which led to a complete shutdown of water and electricity supply,” explained Grossi, who was briefed by two IAEA experts in Zaporozhye.

“Given the intensity of the ongoing shelling, it is unlikely that power will be reliably restored” at the nuclear power plant, he continued. Under these conditions, the Ukrainian company Energoatom is “considering the issue of shutting down the only operating reactor” that generates the electricity needed to cool nuclear fuel and ensure the safety of facilities. In this case, all station systems will have to rely on backup diesel generators.

In addition, due to the “difficult conditions in which the residents of Energodar found themselves,” there may be no personnel necessary to ensure the safety of the facility.

In his statement, Grossi also reiterated his call for a security zone around the nuclear plant.

In early March, Russian troops seized the nuclear power plant, which has six reactors with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts each. Before the war, the Zaporozhye CHP provided 20% of Ukraine’s electricity needs.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters, AFP.}