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IAEA To Release Report After Experts' Visit To Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant

By RFE/RL September 05, 2022

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is set to issue a report about nuclear safety in Ukraine expected to include the agency's findings after a delegation from the agency visited the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.

The IAEA said on September 5 that Director-General Rafael Grossi would issue the report on September 6 and brief the United Nations Security Council on the same day.

Grossi said last week after the team from the IAEA visited the Zaporizhzhya plant that the site had been damaged in fighting.

Grossi and part of his team left the site on September 1, but several members of the mission stayed at the facility to conduct more in-depth analysis.

Out of the six experts who stayed in the facility, four left on September 5. The other two are expected to remain in the power plant "on a permanent basis," according to a statement from Enerhoatom, the operator of the nuclear power plant.

Enerhoatom said earlier the power line connecting the final reactor in operation to the national power grid was cut off after shelling in the area amid heightened fears of an accident at the plant.

In statement on September 5, Enerhoatom said that "Russian occupying troops have continued to intensively shell the territory near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant."

"As a result of a fire caused by the shelling...the electricity line connecting the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant with Ukraine's main electric grid was switched off. Following that, the sixth reactor, which provides the nuclear plant's internal power needs, was switched off," the statement said.

The IAEA said in a statement that the power line had been disconnected deliberately to extinguish the fire.

"The line itself is not damaged, and it will be reconnected once the fire is extinguished," the IAEA said.

It said the power plant continues to receive the electricity it needs for safety from its sole operating reactor.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the renewed Russian shelling of the plant shows that Moscow's disregard for the IAEA.

The power plant for the second time was "one step away from a radiation disaster" due to Russia's actions, Zelenskiy said in his evening address on September 5.

Russia "does not care what the international community decides," Zelenskiy said. It is only interested in the situation remaining "the worst for the longest time," he added.

Fighting around the plant, Europe's largest nuclear station, has raised fears of a potential nuclear disaster. Russian state news agency TASS reported early on September 5 that three explosions were heard in Enerhodar, the town where the Zaporizhzhya plant is located.

Russia has accused Ukraine of attempting to recapture the plant by force, allegations Kyiv denies.

Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of deploying heavy weaponry at the site, knowing that Ukraine likely would not fire on it. Moscow denies those allegations but has resisted efforts to demilitarize the area in order to avert an environmental catastrophe.

Russia's war against Ukraine, now in its seventh month, has also driven up energy prices and sparked supply concerns with the West accusing Moscow of weaponizing gas and oil.

Zelenskiy warned over the weekend that Russia was preparing "a decisive energy blow" as the winter months approached, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned that "Russia is no longer a reliable energy partner."

Gas prices in Europe jumped 30 percent early on September 5 as Russia announced the indefinite shutting of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

The link, which runs under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany, usually supplies about one-third of the gas exported to Europe. Already running at just 20 percent of capacity, the pipeline shut down last week for maintenance before Russia claimed a leak meant it couldn't be reopened. Several Western experts have scoffed at the excuse.

According to the Reuters, EU energy ministers are due to meet on September 9 to discuss options to rein in soaring energy prices, including a gas price cap and emergency credit lines for energy market participants.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's counteroffensive targeting the south, particularly the Kherson region, which Russia seized early in the conflict, continues.

The Ukrainian General Staff said on September 5 that its shelling in areas of the region "where the enemy is still concentrated" forced the Russians to impose a ban on the movement of local residents.

With reporting by TASS, AFP, AP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iaea-zaporizhzhya-one-reactor- working/32018994.html

Copyright (c) 2022. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.