Rafael Grossi visited Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) yesterday and said that the number of troops in the region where the nuclear power plant is located has increased significantly. Therefore, it is no longer possible to protect the nuclear power plant, Sky News reports.
“It was Mr Grossi's second visit to Zaporizhzhya since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, with his aim being to "assess first-hand the serious nuclear safety and security situation at the facility", the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
The IAEA sent its experts to ZNPP in September last year, but Grossi still assesses the situation at the facility as "still precarious."
"It is obvious that military activity is increasing in this whole region. So the plant can't be protected," he said.
Yesterday evening, Grossi left Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, where he was on a one-day visit. According to Energoatom, he returned to the territory controlled by Ukraine together with the experts of the IAEA permanent mission who had been at the plant before the rotation.
On 27 March, the IAEA Director General met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the meeting, the President emphasized that "without the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and personnel from ZNPP and the surrounding areas, any initiatives to restore nuclear safety and security are doomed to failure."