٠٠:٠٤:٠٦Mandatory credit: Zaporozhye NPP press service
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi was seen inspecting a cooling tower of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) damaged by a fire following a reported drone attack weeks ago, on Wednesday.
Footage shows the head of the agency together with mission specialists and Rosatom employees inspecting the territory and the damaged cooling system.
Grossi stressed that it was very important for the IAEA experts to receive a 'first hand impression' of the situation at the ZNPP following the fire.
"It was very important for us, for me personally, to have a first hand impression of the situation after the very traumatic events in August 11 with a fire at a cooling tower," he said.
"We will be analysing, assessing what we saw today. But I believe we continue making progress in ensuring the safety, the security and the stability of the plant," Grossi continued.
On August 11, the head of the Zaporozhye region Yevgeny Balitsky reported that ZNPP’s cooling tower caught fire during a UAV attack on Energodar. According to media reports citing the ZNPP communications director Yevgeniya Yashina, no one was injured in the attack and the cooling tower that caught fire is located at a distance from the power units.
ZNPP Head Chernichuk later reported that while the cooling tower was completely burned out, the supporting structures had not been damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russia for the fire at the ZNPP, adding that "only Ukrainian control over the Zaporozhye plant can guarantee a return to normality and complete safety."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow would 'insist that the IAEA names the perpetrator of this attack', adding that "further silencing of this fact only condones Kiev’s sense of impunity."
In turn, Grossi appealed to stop the attacks against the ZNPP, calling them 'reckless'.
Since July 2022, Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the nuclear facility, after Russia took control of the plant in March of the same year. The IAEA has maintained a presence at Zaporozhye NPP since September 2022 to monitor safety at the plant.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
'Making progress in ensuring safety, security and stability' - IAEA’s Grossi visits Zaporozhye NPP following reported drone strike
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi was seen inspecting a cooling tower of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) damaged by a fire following a reported drone attack weeks ago, on Wednesday.
Footage shows the head of the agency together with mission specialists and Rosatom employees inspecting the territory and the damaged cooling system.
Grossi stressed that it was very important for the IAEA experts to receive a 'first hand impression' of the situation at the ZNPP following the fire.
"It was very important for us, for me personally, to have a first hand impression of the situation after the very traumatic events in August 11 with a fire at a cooling tower," he said.
"We will be analysing, assessing what we saw today. But I believe we continue making progress in ensuring the safety, the security and the stability of the plant," Grossi continued.
On August 11, the head of the Zaporozhye region Yevgeny Balitsky reported that ZNPP’s cooling tower caught fire during a UAV attack on Energodar. According to media reports citing the ZNPP communications director Yevgeniya Yashina, no one was injured in the attack and the cooling tower that caught fire is located at a distance from the power units.
ZNPP Head Chernichuk later reported that while the cooling tower was completely burned out, the supporting structures had not been damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russia for the fire at the ZNPP, adding that "only Ukrainian control over the Zaporozhye plant can guarantee a return to normality and complete safety."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow would 'insist that the IAEA names the perpetrator of this attack', adding that "further silencing of this fact only condones Kiev’s sense of impunity."
In turn, Grossi appealed to stop the attacks against the ZNPP, calling them 'reckless'.
Since July 2022, Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the nuclear facility, after Russia took control of the plant in March of the same year. The IAEA has maintained a presence at Zaporozhye NPP since September 2022 to monitor safety at the plant.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Mandatory credit: Zaporozhye NPP press service
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi was seen inspecting a cooling tower of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) damaged by a fire following a reported drone attack weeks ago, on Wednesday.
Footage shows the head of the agency together with mission specialists and Rosatom employees inspecting the territory and the damaged cooling system.
Grossi stressed that it was very important for the IAEA experts to receive a 'first hand impression' of the situation at the ZNPP following the fire.
"It was very important for us, for me personally, to have a first hand impression of the situation after the very traumatic events in August 11 with a fire at a cooling tower," he said.
"We will be analysing, assessing what we saw today. But I believe we continue making progress in ensuring the safety, the security and the stability of the plant," Grossi continued.
On August 11, the head of the Zaporozhye region Yevgeny Balitsky reported that ZNPP’s cooling tower caught fire during a UAV attack on Energodar. According to media reports citing the ZNPP communications director Yevgeniya Yashina, no one was injured in the attack and the cooling tower that caught fire is located at a distance from the power units.
ZNPP Head Chernichuk later reported that while the cooling tower was completely burned out, the supporting structures had not been damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russia for the fire at the ZNPP, adding that "only Ukrainian control over the Zaporozhye plant can guarantee a return to normality and complete safety."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow would 'insist that the IAEA names the perpetrator of this attack', adding that "further silencing of this fact only condones Kiev’s sense of impunity."
In turn, Grossi appealed to stop the attacks against the ZNPP, calling them 'reckless'.
Since July 2022, Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the nuclear facility, after Russia took control of the plant in March of the same year. The IAEA has maintained a presence at Zaporozhye NPP since September 2022 to monitor safety at the plant.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.