Russia denies IAEA access to Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

• 3 months ago (2024-01-04)
• David Flin

Europe 1061 Nuclear 640

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Rafeal Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that his inspectors are being denied access to parts of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Zaprizhzhia nuclear power plant and had yet to receive 2024 maintenance plans for the facility.

The Zaparizhzhia plant was seized by Russian forces in the early days of its illegal 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The six reactors now produce no electricity.

Grossi said that inspectors at the plant have had no access for two weeks to the main halls of reactors 1, 2, and 6. He said: “This is the first time that IAEA experts have not been granted access to a reactor hall of a unit that was in cold shutdown. This is where the reactor core and spent fuel are located. The team will continue to request this access.” He said that inspectors had also been restricted in their access to the turbine halls at the plant in southeastern Ukraine.

Grossi said the IAEA had asked the plant’s operators for a maintenance schedule for 2024 “which has not yet been provided.” In his statement, Grossi said IAEA staff had observed safety standards being upheld at Ukraine’s three other working nuclear plants, although Russian-fired missiles and drones had flown close to two of them – Khmelnitskyi in the west and the South Ukraine plant.