MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th June, 2023) The Ukrainian counteroffensive creates an "additional layer of concern" about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi said Thursday.
"When I visited (the ZNPP), I could see that the first initial measures were taken by the management of the plant to preserve the amount of water, which is already contained in a cooling pond in the adjacency of the plant. But it is obvious that this will not be enough in the medium and long term to continue with this, so alternative measures, additional measures, mitigation measures will have to be adopted and taken ... We have this additional layer, if you want, of concern over the situation which is in and by itself extremely volatile because, as you know, this plant is sitting on the front line ... so it is obvious that, in the context of the ongoing counteroffensive and the military activities there, the combats there, the plant is incredibly, you know, fragile and open to damage in case of an exchange of fire there," Grossi told the France 24 broadcaster.
Earlier on Thursday, Kiev announced large-scale exercises to work out actions in case of a possible emergency at the ZNPP in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv, as well as in parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions controlled by Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on the exercises, that threats of provocations by the Ukrainian side were constant, which was demonstrated by the sabotage at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, adding that IAEA representatives have recorded Russia's efforts to ensure safety at the ZNPP during their recent visit to the plant.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has earlier accused Russia, citing a report of Ukraine's intelligence and security services, of preparing to blow up the ZNPP because it was not interested in Ukraine's security. Russia has rejected these allegations saying that the IAEA mission headed by Grossi, who visited the plant in June, could be convinced that these statements were nonsense.
