‘Attacking a nuclear power plant is an absolute no go’, agency’s director-general tells emergency meeting
International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Grossi has called for compliance with the key principles preventing nuclear accidents as he said they were violated by recent drone strikes on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine.
Grossi’s comments came at the start of an emergency extraordinary meeting of the 35 members of the IAEA board on 11 April, called by Russia and Ukraine. Both sides have denied responsibility for a series of drone attacks on the six-unit Zaporizhizhia station.
“We are meeting today, and I will meet with the UN Security Council next week, because it is of paramount importance to ensure these reckless attacks do not mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war,” Grossi said.
He added that attacking the Zaporizhzhia plant, which has been occupied by Russia since soon after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, means endangering nuclear safety, with those who could be affected most directly being the people who work at the plant and IAEA experts, specifically the impartial international civil servants working on behalf of the agency’s 178 member states.
Grossi said that the “[IAEA] International Support and Assistance Mission to ZNPP (ISAMZ) confirmed the first attacks since November 2022 to directly target Zaporizhzhia NPP, while one of these attacks resulted in a direct hit on the reactor dome of Unit 6.”
‘A Step-Change Increase In Risk’
While the damage to the structure has not compromised nuclear safety, it is a serious incident, with strikes on Zaporizhzhia’s primary containment representing a step-change increase in risk to nuclear safety, according to Grossi.
“The other two attacks were in close proximity to the main reactor buildings and resulted in at least one casualty. A further drone attack and bursts of rifle fire were reported on Tuesday [April 9], an ominous indication of an apparent readiness to continue these attacks, despite the grave dangers they pose to nuclear safety and security,” Grossi added.
Grossi warned at an IAEA board of governors meeting just one month ago of the precarious situation at Zaporizhzhia.
“But then I was able to report to you that ISAMZ had not found any indications the five concrete principles were not being observed,” he said. “The most recent attacks, however, are a clear violation of the principles and have shifted us into an acutely consequential juncture in this war.”
Grossi said that he has repeatedly stated, including at the [UN] Security Council and the IAEA board of governors, that no one can conceivably benefit or gain any military or political advantage from attacks against nuclear facilities.
“Attacking a nuclear power plant is an absolute no go,” he added.
Grossi reiterated the five concrete principles established at the UN Security Council on 30 May 2023, including that there should be no attack of any kind from or against the plant, in particular targeting the reactors, spent fuel storage, other critical infrastructure, or personnel.
Offsite power to the plant should not be put at risk, he said. Efforts should be made to ensure that offsite power remains available and secure at all times.
Meeting Could ‘Potentially Defuse Tensions’
All structures, systems and components essential to the safe and secure operation of Zaporizhzhia should be protected from attacks or acts of sabotage and no action should be taken that undermines these principles.
Grossi said that he “is asking the board unanimously to support the role of the IAEA in monitoring them, for the benefit of all.”
”We all must use every lever available to us to ensure there are no future attacks on ZNPP,” he added.
A nuclear power analyst told NucNet on 11 April that “the meeting could potentially serve to defuse tensions to some degree, given the direct involvement of both sides and also the international nature of the board meeting”.
“Indeed, this is probably the best outcome that can be hoped for right now, some lessening of military activity around the plant, but continued tensions and risks of military strikes,” the analyst added.
The meeting is taking place on the day when Ukraine’s national grid operator Ukrenergo said that power substations and generating facilities in five regions were damaged, according to UK press reports, including thermal power plants outside Kyiv, Kharkiv and Sumy regions, according to Interfax, as quoted by Sky News.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station has been occupied by Russia since soon after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
