UNITED NATIONS, United States: The head of the UN nuclear watchdog agency warned Monday that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is “dangerously close” to suffering an accident because of recent attacks on it.
Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power facility in Europe. Russian forces had occupied the plant since shortly after their invasion in February 2022.
It has been turned off since 2022 amid frequent attacks.
In the first direct attacks on the plant since November 2022, the nuclear facility has come under a series of drone attacks since April 7, with Ukraine and Russia blaming each other.
Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told a meeting of the UN Security Council: “These reckless attacks must cease immediately”.
Rossi, whose agency has staff deployed at the facility, further said: “Though, fortunately, they have not led to a radiological incident this time, they significantly increase the risk at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, where nuclear safety is already compromised”.
He was worried that the attack “sets a very dangerous precedent” because the reactor confinement structure was hit.
Rossi further said that two years of war are weighing heavily on nuclear safety at the nuclear power plant adding every one of the Agency’s seven pillars of nuclear safety and security have been compromised.
“We are getting dangerously close to a nuclear accident. We must not allow complacency to let a role of the dice decide what happens tomorrow,” he said.
He further said that the risk of a major accident is real even though the reactors are shut.
