IAEA says situation is deteriorating at occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has reported that the nuclear safety situation at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is deteriorating after a drone strike near the plant on 17 August.

Source: press release on the IAEA website

Details: Representatives of the IAEA mission were informed of a drone strike at the occupied ZNPP that occurred outside the plant's security zone.

The UAV supposedly exploded near the cooling ponds and about 100 metres from the Dnipro power line, the only 750 kilovolt (kV) line that provides power to the plant.

The IAEA team visited the site and noted damage likely caused by a drone equipped with explosives. The organisation reported no casualties or damage to the plant's equipment, though the strike occurred on the road between the two main gates of the plant.

Following this, Grossi declared a threat to nuclear safety and urged the warring parties to adhere to five specific principles established to protect the ZNPP.

Quote from Grossi: "I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all sides."

More details: The IAEA team reported that military activity in the ZNPP area "has been intense" over the past week.

Representatives of the organisation have heard frequent explosions, bursts of heavy machine guns and rifles, and artillery at various distances from the plant.

Background:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russians had started a fire on the territory of the ZNPP and urged the IAEA and the international community to respond to the incident. No changes to radiation levels near the ZNPP have been documented.
• Yevhen Yevtushenko, Head of Nikopol District Military Administration, had previously reported that the ZNPP was operating as usual, and the Russians had likely set fire to a large quantity of car tyres in the cooling tower. Cooling tower number one is located about a kilometre from the plant's power units.
• The Russian occupiers have blamed Ukraine for allegedly attacking the city of Enerhodar and claim that background radiation around the ZNPP is normal.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that its experts had witnessed strong dark smoke coming out of the northern area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) following numerous explosions on the evening of 11 August.
• Ukraine's Energy Ministry reported that no excesses of radioactive emissions and discharges had been recorded due to the fire at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
• The Russians denied IAEA experts access to the interior of the cooling tower at ZNPP, where the fire had broken out.

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