Russians understand they cannot restart Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant safely – IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Russia agree that restarting the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is neither feasible nor safe in the current conditions.

Source: IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi during a press conference in Vienna, writes Ukrinform

Quote: "Regarding Kaliningrad, I will not claim that Russia wishes to restart [the ZNPP] and that I am working to prevent them from doing so. That would be unfair and incorrect. However, there was clearly information and signs indicating they wanted to do this. So I had an immediate reaction to this. I said, ‘Well, OK. Okay, what's your plan here? Is there a timeframe?’

So I believe the technical discussion allowed us to understand that they [Russians] truly intend to use this station, but they recognise, let's say, that we concur, or have the same point of view, that at present it would be impracticable and possibly even harmful," Grossi emphasised, commenting on his meeting on 28 May in Kaliningrad with the Russian delegation.

He added that the discussions in Kaliningrad should not be characterised "as a formal agreement".

"It was a technical discussion, but only in the sense that under the existing conditions, a restart – whether progressive, or simultaneous, or of only some units – would have been inappropriate. The reasons for this are, first and foremost, the ongoing military actions in the region. Second, the situation around the external energy supply," said General Director Grossi.

According to him, Russia now understands the "inexpediency" of restarting the ZNPP.

"I think that the conclusion, and I was glad to note that this is the only conclusion of the Russian management, is that under the current circumstances it [restarting the ZNPP] would be inappropriate. The idea is to restart it at some point, of course. They do not plan to decommission this nuclear power plant," he concluded.

Grossi also stated that there would have to be no military action in the vicinity of the ZNPP to do this, and the plant needs a reliable external power supply and to undergo necessary repairs.

Background:

• Putin has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Russia plans to "restart" the ZNPP.
• The necessary repairs and inspections are not being conducted in full at the ZNPP because the staff hired by the Russians are not competent to carry them out.
• There are no licensed personnel at the Russian-occupied ZNPP who are capable of restarting it properly, and incompetent actions by Russian specialists at the power plant could lead to a nuclear incident.
• Energoatom, Ukraine’s nuclear energy generating company, asserted the Russians will be prevented from restarting the station by the loss of the Kakhovka reservoir, the absence of power networks, and the lack of suitable personnel.

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