VIENNA, February 21. /TASS/. Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi believes that the frequent power cuts at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) pose major safety concerns for the plant, the IAEA said in a statement.
"Ukraine’s Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has lost the connection to its last back-up external power line, once again underlining the fragile nuclear safety and security situation at the site," Grossi said.
"Frequent power cuts have remained a source of serious concern for nuclear safety and security at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as it needs electricity to cool its reactors and for other essential functions, even when all reactor units have been shut down," he added.
According to Grossi, the IAEA team of experts stationed at the nuclear facility was informed that the 330 kilovolt (kV) line was disconnected on Tuesday, due to a problem on the Ukrainian side.
"Even though the main power line remains in operation, the lack of back-up power demonstrates that the nuclear safety and security situation at the plant remains precarious," he said.
On February 14, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the ‘We Are Together with Russia’ movement, reported two explosions resulting from a Ukrainian drone attack on the city of Energodar, located near the ZNPP. Rogov said that the city administration building was damaged in the dual drone strike. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow expects the IAEA to take a responsible stand and point the finger at the Kiev regime as the only source of threat to the ZNPP’s reliable operation.
In late February, the IAEA chief paid his fourth visit to the Zaporozhye NPP. Grossi is also planning to travel to Moscow at the end of the month. Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev stressed that he was looking forward to meeting the IAEA chief soon.
The Zaporozhye NPP, located in Energodar, is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. In late February 2022, the facility was taken under control by Russian forces. Since then, the Ukrainian military has been periodically bombarding both Energodar’s residential neighborhoods and the premises of the Zaporozhye nuclear plant, using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems.