Fragile Nuclear Safety at Zaporizhzhia Plant: Russian Mines 'Defensively Positioned'
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), although no mines were detected during Director General Grossi's visit to ZNP, they are aware of their previous placement outside the plant's perimeter. Additionally, according to explanations from the "security service personnel," mines "with defensive purposes" were located in certain areas inside.
This information has been officially reported on the IAEA website.
"While the presence of any explosive device does not meet safety standards, the fundamental safety functions of the facility are not significantly affected," stated IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi after his visit to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, seized by Russian occupiers.
Grossi emphasized that the current state of nuclear safety and security at ZNP is extremely fragile and added that the loss of the Kakhovka Reservoir has become a disaster for the region as a whole and has significantly complicated the situation at ZNP.
Grossi noted that now "all parties" must adhere to the fundamental principles of the IAEA, the principles of the IAEA for preventing a nuclear accident.
"We are intensifying our efforts to help ensure nuclear safety and security and provide assistance to the affected region in other ways," stated IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
"Beyond the potential hazards faced by the plant, ZNP remains dependent on a single operational 750 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line for external power needed for reactor cooling," added the IAEA.
Recall that on June 20, Kirill Budanov, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, announced that the terrorist country of Russia had additionally mined the cooling system at ZNP.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi previously stated that the undermining of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station threatens the operation of ZNP. According to him, there is a risk of running out of the necessary water level for reactor cooling within a few weeks.
On June 13, Rafael Grossi arrived in Ukraine to personally assess the situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
On June 15, after visiting the Ukrainian ZNP occupied by the Russians, he stated that the situation at ZNP is serious but stabilizing, and the mines placed by Russian occupiers in certain areas inside ZNP are there for "defensive purposes" and do not affect the main safety functions of the nuclear facility.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate stated that the undermining of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station by Russians increases the threat of a nuclear catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.