Dangers are multiplying around Ukraine’s nuclear power stations because of the proximity of the fighting and the power cuts, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said on Wednesday.
“There are a whole host of dangers that are multiplying and that will be with us until the end of the conflict”, Mr Grossi told the press on the sidelines of a visit to the site planned for the burial of radioactive waste at Bure (Meuse), in eastern France.
The Zaporizhzhzia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine has remained in Russian hands since the invasion of the country in early 2022.
“Military actions have increased, and in our permanent expert mission, which we have in Zaporizhzhzia and also in the other Ukrainian power stations, we are seeing an increase in attacks in the vicinity” of the power stations, noted Mr Grossi. “This is of great concern to us”.
The head of the IAEA also mentioned the power cuts, “which pose a risk to the cooling function” of the reactors.
In this context, the IAEA is trying “to have a dissuasive effect on all parties, to avoid adding an accident with radiological consequences to the misery of this war”, he explained.
Precarious situation
After falling into the hands of the Russian army on 4 March 2022, Zaporizhzhzia, Europe’s largest power station, was fired upon and cut off from the electricity grid on several occasions, a precarious situation that has led to fears of a major nuclear accident.
Both sides accuse each other of wanting to cause a disaster. In early November, Russia claimed to have intercepted nine Ukrainian drones flying near the plant.
Earlier, Moscow had accused Ukraine of using drones to target a nuclear power plant in the Russian border region of Kursk, hitting an administrative building and a nuclear waste depot.
However, the plant operator said that the attack had not caused any increase in radioactivity.
For its part, at the beginning of July, Kyiv accused Moscow of preparing a “provocation” at Zaporizhzhzia, with the army claiming that “objects similar to explosive devices had been placed” on the roofs of reactors 3 and 4.
The IAEA subsequently confirmed that it had not observed “any mines or explosives” on the roofs of these buildings.
Last June, Mr Grossi made his third visit to the Ukrainian power plant in Zaporizhia since the Russian invasion.
On that occasion, he had had to assess the risk to the plant of the bursting of a dam, the water from which was used to cool the reactors.
He described the situation as “serious”, but at the same time said he was reassured by the fact that “measures are being taken to stabilise the situation”.
The IAEA has a team of experts on-site at all times.
As far as electricity supplies are concerned, Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom gave assurances in August that the power stations located in the territories controlled by Kyiv would be at full capacity before the winter.
In addition to Zaporizhzhzia, which is controlled by Russia, Ukraine currently has three power stations – nine reactors in all.
