MELITOPOL, July 7. /TASS/. Activities at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plants’ (ZNPP) spent nuclear fuel facility are monitored by the International Atopic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission, the plant’s administration said on Friday.

"All work at the spent nuclear fuel facility is carried out under constant monitoring by the IAEA mission. A special IAEA seal is placed on the VSC-VVER container bolts to prevent unauthorized unsealing of the container," it wrote on its Telegram channel.

The ZNPP’s dry facility for storing spent nuclear fuel is equipped with ventilated concrete containers for vertical storage of spent reactor fuel assemblies. Spent nuclear fuel can be stored in such containers for at least 50 years. "The radiation background around the containers at the spent nuclear fuel dry storage facility is stable, with no serious deviations from the natural background," it said, adding that these containers ensure dry, sealed and safe storage of fuel assemblies. The facility can hold 380 such containers and does not require much technical servicing.

Located in the city of Energodar, the Zaporozhye NPP is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and has six power units with an aggregate capacity of 6 GW. Russian forces took control of the facility in February 2022. Since then, Ukrainian troops have been periodically shelling both Energodar’s residential quarters and the plant’s territory, using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems.