Safety probably not endangered
IAEA experts find mines at Zaporizhia nuclear plant
07/25/2023, 5:05 am
Kiev and Moscow repeatedly accuse each other of attacking the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. After an impending escalation at the beginning of the month, the situation seems to have calmed down a bit. But during an inspection of a buffer zone, IAEA employees discover explosive devices.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), several mines have been sighted on the site of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is occupied by Russian troops. As IAEA boss Rafael Grossi explained, employees of his agency discovered “some mines in a buffer zone between the inner and outer fence of the facility” during inspections on Sunday. The explosives are therefore in “restricted areas” to which the operating personnel of the plant have no access.
Grossi did not provide information on the number of mines on the power plant site. According to him, the IAEA assumes in an initial assessment that a detonation “should not impair the safety and security systems of the nuclear facility”.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. The Russian army took control of it on March 4, 2022, shortly after the start of its attack on Ukraine. Kiev and Moscow have repeatedly accused each other of endangering the safety of the nuclear power plant. The Ukrainian military had accused the Russian occupiers, among other things, of having “explosives-like objects” attached to the roofs of two reactors. Their detonation should give “the impression of a shelling from the Ukrainian side”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned of a “subversive act by the regime in Kiev.”
“Increased pressure on staff”
Grossi now described the deployment of explosive devices on the site as “incompatible with IAEA safety standards and the guidelines for nuclear safety”. Such an approach also increases the psychological pressure on the staff, explained Grossi.
Last week, the IAEA said its experts had inspected the facility without finding any evidence of mines. However, the authority has still not received access to the roofs of the reactor buildings and their turbine halls, the current statement said.
At the beginning of the month, the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant caused great international concern. In early July, after repeated warnings from Russia and Ukraine of alleged attack plans by the other side, the IAEA requested extended access to the plant to check for mines or explosives on the power plant site.