VIENNA (Reuters) – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains “seriously concerned” about the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine and called in its inspection report published on Tuesday for the establishment of a “safety zone” around the plant.
Inspectors led by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi last week noted the presence of Russian soldiers and military equipment at various locations in Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, including vehicles parked in the halls of turbines, says the report, which contradicts Moscow’s claims on this point.
The report lists the damage inflicted on the plant occupied since March by Russian forces, and located near the front line, by the bombardments for which Kyiv and Moscow are mutually responsible.
The UN agency calls for the implementation of “provisional measures” to limit the risk of a nuclear accident, the time to carry out discussions on securing the site.
Unlike United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Western allies of Ukraine, the IAEA, whose two inspectors have remained in Zaporizhia, does not explicitly call for the “demilitarization” of the plant.
On the other hand, it calls for an improvement in the working conditions of the employees of the Ukrainian public energy company who continue to operate the plant.
“Ukrainian personnel operating the plant under Russian military occupation are constantly under high stress and pressure, especially with a limited number of employees available,” the report said. “This is untenable and could lead to increased human error with implications for nuclear safety.”
(Report by François Murphy, French version Tangi Salaün, edited by Sophie Louet)
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