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IAEA chief heads to Ukraine to visit Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

ViennaEdited By: Manas JoshiUpdated: Mar 27, 2023, 05:11 PM IST
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(File photo) Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Photograph:(Reuters)

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It will be Grossi's second visit to the nuclear plant. In September last year, he had visited Zaporizhzhia power plant and had established a permanent presence of IAEA experts.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi departed from Vienna on Sunday (March 26) to visit Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russian-held Ukrainian territory. The chief of the UN nuclear watchdog is pressing for a security zone around the nuclear plant, Europe's largest. The nuclear plant has come under repeated Russian attacks over the last month.

“On my way to #Zaporizhzhya NNP to assess first-hand the #nuclear safety & security situation at the facility,” Grossi said in a Twitter post on Sunday.

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It will be Grossi's second visit. In September last year, he had visited the power plant and had established a permanent presence of IAEA experts.

Russian troops occupied the facility early in their invasion of Ukraine and it remains near the frontline. Both sides blame each other for the shelling.

Earlier this month, he appealed for the protection zone around the plant to be set up, saying he was "astonished by the complacency" around the issue.

The plant accounted for around 20% of Ukraine's national power generation before the invasion, but has not produced any electricity since September when the last of its six reactors was taken offline.

Russia attacked Ukraine in February last year. After sustained gains in first few months of the conflict, Russian troops had to retreat in the face of counterattacks by Ukraine. Currently, the city of Bakhmut has become a focal point of the fighting.

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