Shelling at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) site this weekend damaged buildings, systems and equipment. Some explosions were heard near the reactors, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement.
He described this shelling as one of the heaviest in recent months.
According to the agency, the shelling began on Saturday, 19 November, around 6 pm. After a lull, it resumed on Sunday at 9:15. Then within 40 minutes, more than a dozen blasts took place.
The radiation level, according to inspectors, is normal. External power supplies, which have already failed many times, are not affected now. Instead, plant staff reported that damage was found in many places, including the radioactive waste building and storage facility, cooling pond sprinkler systems, an electrical cable to one of the reactors, condensate storage tanks, and a bridge between the reactor and auxiliary equipment.
“Once again, we were fortunate that a potentially serious nuclear incident did not happen. Next time, we may not be so lucky. We must do everything in our power to make sure there is no next time,” Grossi said.
He added that the attacks came dangerously close to the nuclear safety system: "metres, not kilometres". Grossi noted that, however, there was no direct impact on the key nuclear safety and security systems at the plant, but it was "gambling with many people’s lives".
According to the Ukrainian State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate, the shelling, according to preliminary estimates, damaged the communication trestles with special corps, tanks of chemically desalinated water, steam generator blowdown systems, auxiliary systems of one of the two station-wide diesel engines and other equipment of the plant.
ZNPP was seized in early March. The invaders put pressure on the personnel, forcing people to cooperate with Rosatom employees sent to the plant. Since the takeover, the plant has been de-energized several times, endangering nuclear safety.