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Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is out of control, says IAEA Ukraine war: IAEA says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant out of control
(about 3 hours later)
This image of a Russian serviceman guarding the plant was taken in MayThis image of a Russian serviceman guarding the plant was taken in May
The head of the United Nations' nuclear agency has said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine is "completely out of control". A huge nuclear power plant occupied by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine is "completely out of control", The head of the UN's nuclear agency says.
"Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated," Rafael Grossi told news agency Associated Press. Rafael Grossi was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying the Zaporizhzhia plant needed an inspection and repairs.
The site, held by Russian forces since early March, is Europe's largest nuclear power plant. "You have a catalogue of things that should never be happening in any nuclear facility," he said.
Mr Grossi said on Monday that his team had been ready to visit the plant for the past two months. Europe's biggest nuclear plant is dangerously close to the fighting.
But they have so far been unable to carry out the mission, he said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia earlier this week of using the plant, which it overran in March, as a military base to launch attacks on Ukrainian forces.
Meanwhile, a Russian-installed official in the Zaporizhzhia region has told Reuters news agency that Ukrainian forces were using Western-supplied weapons to attack the plant. Ukrainian officials have said Russians station troops and store military hardware on the grounds of the power station on the Dnipro river in the south of Ukraine.
Yevgeny Balitsky said officials were ready to show the IAEA how Russians were guarding the nuclear facility while Ukrainians were allegedly attacking it, the agency reported. But a Russian-installed official in the region told Reuters news agency that Ukrainian forces were using Western-supplied weapons to attack the plant.
Russia seized the power plant in the early days after the invasion, and the shelling of buildings there by Russian forces caused an international outcry. Yevgeny Balitsky said officials were ready to show Mr Grossi's agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), how Russians were guarding the nuclear facility while Ukrainians were allegedly attacking it.
The power plant in southern Ukraine is still operating, with Ukrainian staff under Russian control. When Russia seized the plant, its shelling of buildings there caused an international outcry.
The plant is still operating, with Ukrainian staff under Russian control.
At a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York, Mr Grossi said: "The situation is very fragile. Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated one way or the other and we cannot allow that to continue."
The IAEA's director-general said he was trying to put together a mission as soon as possible to visit the plant but this required the approval of both the Ukrainian and Russian sides, as well as UN authorisation, given the risks involved in visiting the war zone.
In June, Ukraine's state nuclear company said Ukraine had not invited the IAEA - and any visit would legitimise Russia's presence there.
This week, Mr Grossi said he and his team needed protection to reach Zaporizhzhia - which meant the co-operation of both Russia and Ukraine. "I'm pleading to both sides to let this mission proceed," he said.
IAEA contacts with staff at the plant had been "patchy" and the supply chain of equipment and spares had been disrupted, Mr Grossi explained to AP. There was also a lot of nuclear material which needed to be inspected, he added.
"While this war rages on, inaction is unconscionable," he said. "If an accident occurs at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, we will not have a natural disaster to blame - we will have only ourselves to answer to. We need everyone's support."
Accusing the Russians of using the plant as a "nuclear shield", Mr Blinken said: "Of course the Ukrainians cannot fire back lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant."
In 1986, northern Ukraine was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster when a reactor at the Chernobyl plant exploded.
Russian forces also seized Chernobyl soon after the invasion on 24 February this year but withdrew after five weeks. Computers at the site were looted or damaged but actual nuclear equipment at the decommissioned plant was not affected.
Chernobyl scarred by Russian damage and looting
Watch: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant appears to be on fire following shelling.Watch: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant appears to be on fire following shelling.
Watch: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant appears to be on fire following shelling.Watch: Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant appears to be on fire following shelling.
But the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) contacts with staff at the plant had been "patchy" and the supply chain of equipment and spares had been disrupted, Mr Grossi explained to the Associated Press.
There was also a lot of nuclear material there which needs to be inspected by the IAEA, he added.
"The people of Zaporizhzhia and people far from Zaporizhzhia are relying on all of us to prevent war from causing a nuclear tragedy," Mr Grossi - who runs the IAEA, which works with countries to help ensure the safe use of nuclear technologies - told a conference in New York this week.
In June, Ukraine's state nuclear company accused Mr Grossi of lying over the planned inspection visit, saying Ukraine had not invited his organisation and any visit would legitimise Russia's presence there.
In his interview on Tuesday, Mr Grossi said he and his team needed protection to reach Zaporizhzhia - which meant the co-operation of both Russia and Ukraine.
"I'm pleading to both sides to let this mission proceed," he said.
In 1986, Ukraine was the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster when a reactor at the Chernobyl plant exploded.
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