The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday that he is concerned about the increasing number of attacks around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
“The security situation remains very difficult,” said Rafael Grossi. “Moreover, we have been witnessing increasingly frequent attacks [on the nuclear facility], the IAEA chief said.
Grossi made his comments after a meeting with the head of the Russian atomic agency Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, in Moscow, according to the Interfax news agency.
Grossi did not want to comment on who was responsible for the attacks on the nuclear facility. International nuclear observers stationed there would not be able to tell from the drone debris, he said.
Still, Grossi said that that such questions would be addressed at the top level in international meetings.
Before his visit to Moscow, Grossi was also in Ukraine, where he warned of the danger of a nuclear accident due to Russia’s constant attacks on Ukraine’s power grid.
The nuclear power plant in the Zaporizhzhya region was occupied by Russian troops shortly after the war began nearly three years ago. Several attempts by Kiev to retake the plant have failed.
Ukrainian and Russian troops repeatedly blame each other for shelling the plant, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the front line. The six reactor units have been shut down, but still need to be cooled.
