The morale and the emotional state of staff working at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station are “very low” a month after Russian military forces seized the site, International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Grossi said.

Mr Grossi has repeatedly expressed grave concern about the extremely stressful and challenging work conditions for personnel operating Ukraine’s nuclear facilities during the conflict, especially at Zaporizhzhia and the Chernobyl site, which Russian forces controlled for five weeks before their withdrawal last Thursday.

This unprecedented staffing situation has seriously compromised one of the pillars of nuclear safety and security stating that “operating staff must be able to fulfil their safety and security duties and have the capacity to make decisions free of undue pressure”, the IAEA said.