The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency traveled Wednesday to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine to assess developments and “precarious” safety conditions, the U.N. agency said in a statement.
“The IAEA acts promptly and decisively whenever and wherever there are threats to nuclear safety and security,” Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in the statement. “Our proactive presence is of paramount importance to help stabilize the situation.”
During the visit, Grossi visited a pumping station and assessed the level of water in the cooling pond, which has dropped around six feet since mid-2023. Grossi also examined a cooling tower at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant that caught fire last month, and said it may need to be demolished due to the “significant damage on the interior walls, debris and blackened surfaces,” the agency said in a separate statement Thursday.
The IAEA team stationed at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhya plant in Ukraine said it heard explosions and other military activity near the plant. The team was also told to reschedule its planned walkdown on Aug. 26, and also had to shelter indoors on Aug. 20.
This visit was the fifth time since September 2022 that Grossi has visited the Ukraine plant, and the tenth time he has visited since the conflict between Ukraine and Russia began in February 2022. According to the IAEA’s statement, since February 2024 the site has experienced drone strikes, power line outages and recently a fire.
Meanwhile, Grossi last week visited the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant after the Russian federation informed IAEA that drone remains were found near the plant.
“My message has been loud and clear throughout this tragic war: a nuclear accident must be avoided at all costs, and a nuclear power plant must never be attacked,” Grossi said in the statement.