The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned on Tuesday that there was an ongoing risk of nuclear accidents in Ukraine following the recent Russian air strikes.
“It is obvious that the dangers of nuclear safety are still very real and everlasting. My team reported that this was the most intense air strike date since the second half of last year,” said Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA.
He said the agency's presence in nuclear facilities remains crucial to preventing nuclear incidents. Two teams of IAEA experts operating nuclear power plants in Ukraine must avoid up to three times a day and have an abnormal number of air strike warnings.
Grossi also said that it is beginning to prepare for the future reconstruction of Ukraine's energy infrastructure, a process in which IAEA can play an important role.
Since the Russian invasion, the International Atomic Energy Agency has played a central role in monitoring and maintaining the status and security of Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
It regularly dispatched its team of experts to the operating reactor sites in Rivne and Khmelnytskyi and permanently existed at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian troops since 2022 and has been shut down for safety reasons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on X that any effort by Russia to restart the Zaporizhzhya factory without Ukraine's involvement would be “absurd and dangerous” and called on the unhindered IAEA to enter the site.
Ukraine relies on nuclear power to meet more than half of its electricity demand. Russia has repeatedly targeted the country's power plants and energy infrastructure to disrupt supply.
