MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - Amid a deepening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine caused by the ongoing Russian invasion, the head of the UN atomic energy agency has said that safety at the country's largest nuclear power plant 'remains a deep source of concern'.
Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, which is also Europe's biggest nuclear energy facility, has been under Russian control since shortly after it launched a full-scale military campaign in February 2022.
In recent days, an IAEA expert team crossed the frontline to replace colleagues at the Zaporizhzhya plant who have been monitoring nuclear safety and security since September 2022. The presence of the 'IAEA Support and Assistance Mission' at ZNPP and four other nuclear facilities is meant 'to help prevent a radiological accident during the military conflict', IAEA said in a statement.
'We will stay at these sites for as long as it is needed to help avert the threat of a nuclear accident that could have serious consequences for human health and the environment in Ukraine and beyond,' said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. 'As the nuclear safety and security situation remains highly challenging, our experts are continuing to play a crucial stabilizing role at all these facilities.'
Media reports indicated ongoing fighting and drone attacks in the vicinity of the Zaporizhyzhya plant in southeastern Ukraine.
The agency's teams reported that the safety and security at Ukraine's four other nuclear plants - Khmelnytskyy, Rivne, South Ukraine NPPs and the Chornobyl - are 'being maintained despite the effects of the ongoing conflict, including air raid alarms for several days over the past week'.
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