IAEA Chief: Accident at Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine Can Happen ‘Any Moment’

Fragment of the stele at the entrance to the territory of the Zaporozhye NPP in Energodar.InternationalIndiaAfricaMOSCOW (Sputnik) – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said an accident at a nuclear power plant (NPP) in Ukraine can happen at any time. Journalist Christiane Amanpour asked Grossi what the possibility of an accident at a Ukrainian NPP was if there was no safety zone around it.

"It can happen any moment, any time. Today you can have a quiet situation, and the next day you can have shelling, and this has happened. And when shelling comes, or when the external power supplies are interrupted, and the reactors are no longer cooled, you can have a meltdown," Grossi said.

In addition, the situation remains tense regarding the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, since Kiev’s forces are targeting the facility in the region, which joined Russia via a referendum last Autumn.The Zaporozhye NPP is located on the left bank of the Dnepr near the city of Energodar. This is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in terms of the number of units and installed capacity – the plant has six power units with a capacity of 1 gigawatt each. © Sputnik / Konstantin MIkhalchevsky / Go to the mediabankZaporozhye NPP. File photoZaporozhye NPP. File photo / Go to the mediabankSince March 2022, the nuclear plant has been under the protection of the Russian military. The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that this step was justified in order to avoid leakage of nuclear and radioactive materials. The Ukrainian military continues to regularly shell Energodar and targets the territory of the Zaporozhye NPP adjacent to the city. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said the Kiev regime seeks to create the appearance of a nuclear disaster threat by continuing to purposefully shell the ZNPP. The IAEA has repeatedly stated the need to create a security zone around the ZNPP. Referendums on the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions becoming part of Russia were held on September 23-27, 2022. Most voters supported joining Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed relevant treaties with the territories’ heads on September 30.

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