Work underway to restart Zaporizhzhya Nuclear plant, says Russia

On Friday, 6th June, Russia held talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delegation led by Director General Rafael Grossi, in the country's Kaliningrad exclave. The Russian delegation led by Alexey Likhachev, the Chief of Russia's Nuclear power agency, Rosatom, says they informed about the work currently underway to prepare for the restart of the Zaporizhzhya(Russia calls it Zaporozhskaya) Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine and to ensure its operation to generate electricity.

Located in southeastern Ukraine, Zaporizhzhya is Europe's largest Nuclear power plant and among the ten largest of its kind in the world. Since the Russia-Ukraine War that began in 2022, the Soviet-era atomic power plant has been under Russian control. The plant has six VVER-1000 reactors which are capable of generating 5,700Megawatts of power, which translates to about one-fifth of Ukraine's energy requirements. As war rages around the plant, power generation at all of its six reactors have been suspended.

Reports say, it is challenging to restart power generation at the plant as the war ranges on, due to unavailability of reliable external power supply and adequate water for cooling purposes. The International Atomic Energy Agency has called for a ceasefire, after which measures to improve the water and external power supplies needed to cool nuclear fuel could be taken.

According to Rosatom, the discussion with IAEA centered on ensuring nuclear safety and security of the Zaporozhskaya nuclear power plant (NPP) under the conditions of continuous attacks by the armed forces of Ukraine. The participants of the meeting also discussed issues related to regular rotations of the IAEA experts at the plant. It was emphasized by the Russian side that during the rotations the priority is to ensure safety of the IAEA staff and of the representatives of the relevant agencies involved.

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In a statement issued on Thursday, June 5th, Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA's Director General said that the IAEA team based Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) heard repeated rounds of gunfire that appeared to be aimed at drones reportedly attacking the site’s training centre, followed by the sound of multiple explosions. It was the fourth time this year that the training centre, located just outside the site perimeter, was reportedly targeted by unmanned aerial vehicles, it was added.

“Drones flying close to nuclear power plants could threaten their safety and security, with potentially serious consequences. As I have stated repeatedly during the war, such incidents must stop immediately,” Director General Grossi said.

During his talks with Russian officials, Grossi shared his understanding of the situation around the ZNPP and informed about his recent international contacts, Rosatom said. Other issues of mutual interest pertinent to the cooperation between Russia and the IAEA were also touched upon during the consultations.

Earlier this week, Grossi visited Ukraine, where he said, “It is clear that the dangers to nuclear safety continue to be very real and ever-present. My teams report that this was the most intense day of air raid alarms they had experienced since late last year. More than three years after this horrific war began, the IAEA’s on the ground presence remains essential to help avoid the threat of a severe nuclear accident”.