During visit to Kyiv agency chief forced to hold meeting in underground shelter
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Grossi has warned about the ongoing risk of a nuclear accident in Ukraine, saying the dangers to nuclear safety “continue to be very real and ever-present”.
The presence of IAEA officials at nuclear facilities in Ukraine remains essential to help prevent a nuclear incident, Grossi said on 3 June after his 12th visit to Kyiv since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The IAEA said air raid sirens forced one Grossi’s meetings to be held in an underground shelter.
“My teams report that this was the most intense day of air raid alarms they had experienced since late last year,” Grossi said.
IAEA teams based at two of Ukraine’s operating nuclear power stations – Khmelnitski and Rivne – were also told to seek shelter during a day of unusually frequent air raid alerts. The team at Rivne, in western Ukraine, went to the shelter three times, two of which were reportedly due to cruise missile alerts and the other due to a ballistic missile alert.
“While there were no reports of attacks affecting the operation of the NPPs, the sound of air raid sirens blaring in Kyiv and elsewhere highlighted the continued dangerous situation, including for nuclear safety,” the IAEA said.
Grossi met Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, with whom he also discussed the IAEA’s plans to support the country in restoring and expanding its infrastructure related to nuclear power, which is of paramount importance for Ukraine’s electricity generation.
“More than three years after this horrific war began, the IAEA’s on-the-ground presence remains essential to help avoid the threat of a severe nuclear accident,” Grossi said.
‘We Must Start Looking To The Future’
“But at the same time, we must start looking to the future. While the IAEA remains committed to doing everything we can to help keep Ukraine’s nuclear facilities safe and secure until this devastating war ends, it is also crucial to prepare for the reconstruction phase, where the IAEA can also play an important role,” he said.
Grossi also commented on a report that Russia is taking steps to connect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station to its electricity grid, telling reporters that the Russians had never hidden the fact they want to restart the facility, but adding they would not be able to do so soon.
He said the six-unit Zaporizhzhia is not in a condition to be restarted at present due to a lack of water for cooling and the absence of a stable power supply. Water would have to be pumped from the Dnipro River for the plant to restart, Grossi said.
Zaporizhzhia, near the city of Enerhodar, close to the frontline of fighting in southern Ukraine, has been under Russian occupation since 2022.
All six units are in a state of cold shutdown, defined by nuclear regulators as meaning the reactor coolant system is at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature below about 90°C following a reactor cooldown.
Cold shutdown reduces the need for cooling and lessens the risk of an accident. In a cold shutdown, the reactor is in a subcritical state, meaning no nuclear fission is taking place.
