Zaporizhzhia’s nuclear safety is deteriorating, says the IAEA
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The nuclear security situation at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine is deteriorating, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said, following a drone strike near the area’s border.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he remained deeply concerned and called for “greater restraint from all sides” to protect the facility.
The center said the impact of the strike was on a road just outside the center – near important irrigation ponds and 100m from the only power line.
The facility was taken over by the Russian military at the beginning of the war and has been attacked several times by both sides who have blamed the other.
Last week, Kyiv and Moscow exchange after a fire broke out in one of the plant’s cooling towers.
The IAEA did not say who carried out Saturday’s strike, but its task force in Zaporizhzhia said the damage appeared to have been caused by an explosive-laden aircraft carrying an explosive device.
“The team has heard regular explosions, heavy gunfire and machine gun fire at different locations from the factory,” the agency said in a statement.
The plant has not produced electricity for more than two years and all six generators have been shut down since April.
Russia launched an all-out invasion of its neighbor in February 2022 and has been making slow progress recently in seizing more territory in eastern Ukraine.
However, there was a shock when Ukrainian troops entered their Kursk base where they had been holding positions for almost two weeks.
Thousands of Russians have been evacuated from the area.
On Sunday, the head of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, said that his forces destroyed a second bridge in the Kursk region “depriving the enemy of its operational capabilities.
Earlier this week, Ukraine destroyed a bridge over the Seym River used by the Kremlin to supply its troops.
It is the first time that foreign troops have been on Russian soil since the Second World War.
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