VIENNA (AP) — Russia could eventually restart the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant it seized in southeastern Ukraine, but shares the view of international observers that doing so now is impractical and potentially dangerous, it said head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog on Monday.
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi said he gained insight into Russia’s position last week during a meeting in Kaliningrad with Alexey Likhachev, the director general of Russia’s Rosatom nuclear energy agency.
Grossi told reporters at a meeting of the 35-nation IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna that Russia has no plans to dismantle the plant. Moscow has “the intention to use this plant” but also recognizes “that this would not be practical and perhaps even dangerous at this time,” Grossi said.
Grossi said his May 28 talks with Russian officials were to “ensure we were on the same page,” but that the outcome could not be characterized as a “formal agreement.”
Zaporizhia is the largest in Europe and one of the ten largest nuclear power stations in the world. Although the six reactors have been closed for months, the country still needs power and qualified personnel to operate crucial systems to cool the reactors and spent fuel pools.
Russian forces seized the Zaporizhia factory just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and since then Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly traded blame for the shelling near the factory.
Grossi said the main dangers of restarting the nuclear power plant are the ongoing military operations in the region and the precarious nature of the external power supply, with “fluctuations or even blackouts” still occurring, he said.
Grossi said that in order to safely restart the nuclear power plant, there must be no “any bombing or any activity of this type,” and there must be a stable external power supply, along with several other safety assessments.
The IAEA last reported on May 23 that the Zaporizhia power plant had temporarily lost connection to the only remaining power line outside the site “due to a reported short circuit, which left the plant dependent on a single backup line for more than three hours ”. it underlined “the extremely precarious nuclear safety and security situation” at the plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed concern about the plant, fearing a possible nuclear catastrophe.
Grossi last met Russian President Vladimir Putin in March in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
