A senior Ukrainian government official said on Wednesday that UN nuclear director Rafael Grossi has postponed a scheduled visit to Ukraine’s Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility until it is safe to travel.
Grossi was scheduled to visit the site on Wednesday after negotiations in Kyiv on Tuesday, but a diplomatic source said the visit would be postponed by “some hours.” According to Interfax, a Russian-installed local official, Grossi will visit the factory on Thursday.
“He’s waiting to be able to travel safely,” said a senior Ukrainian government official, who requested anonymity. Grossi’s arrival at the plant in southeastern Ukraine was not specified by the official.
Since the start of a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Moscow and Kyiv have reported severe fighting in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Grossi, the chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned on Tuesday in Kyiv that he was “very concerned” that the nuclear plant will be caught up in Ukraine’s counteroffensive to regain Russian-occupied territory.
The International Atomic Energy Agency stated on Sunday that it needs access to a facility near the Zaporizhzhia plant to check water levels after the neighboring reservoir lost much of its water due to the demolition of the Kakhovka dam downstream.
Both parties have accused each other of undermining the dam, which has resulted in catastrophic floods. Western countries said they are still gathering data, but they believe Ukraine had no reason to cause such a calamity on itself.
Shortly after their February 2022 invasion, Russian forces took the hydroelectric dam and the nuclear power facility in southern Ukraine.
A cooling pond is used at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station to safeguard its six reactors from potentially catastrophic overheating.
On Tuesday, Ukraine’s nuclear energy company stated that the pond’s level remained stable and that the water level was sufficient.
Grossi told reporters in Kyiv after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky that there was no immediate risk but that it was a “serious situation.” He stated that his visit to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant will provide a more realistic evaluation of the risk.
According to Ukrainian nuclear authorities, the Kakhovka reservoir was routinely used to refill the pond but cannot do so today due to its dropping water level.
They claim that the pond, which is separate from the reservoir, can be supplied via deep underground wells.
Source: Reuters
