Vienna, Austria:

The UN’s nuclear watchdog warned on Saturday that the safety situation at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was “deteriorating” following a nearby drone strike.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia accused Ukraine of dropping an explosive charge on a road near the occupied plant in southern Ukraine.

The plant, which was seized by Russia’s forces early in the war, has come under repeated attacks that both sides have accused each other of carrying out.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts on site were informed of the detonation near essential plant facilities on Saturday and immediately visited the area, the agency said in a statement.

They reported that the damage “seemed to have been caused by a drone equipped with an explosive payload,” impacting the road between the plant’s two main gates.

“Yet again we see an escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers facing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,” IAEA head Rafael Grossi said in the statement.

“I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all sides,” he said.

The “nuclear safety situation” at the plant was “deteriorating,” the statement added.

The IAEA team on site reported “intense” military activity over the past week in the area, including very close to the plant, it added.

“The team has heard frequent explosions, repetitive heavy machine gun and rifle fire and artillery at various distances from the plant,” it said.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the IAEA has repeatedly urged restraint, saying it fears reckless military action could trigger a major nuclear accident at the plant.

Kyiv and Moscow traded blame last weekend after a fire broke out at a cooling tower at the plant.

IAEA experts were able to visit the base of the cooling tower but have requested further access to assess the situation, according to the Vienna-based IAEA.

The fire resulted in “considerable damage”, but there was no immediate threat to nuclear safety, the agency said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

An overview of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and fires, in Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine. File photo
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

India has abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that demanded that Russia immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine and urgently withdraw its military and other unauthorised personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on Thursday, July 11, 2024, with 99 votes in favour, nine against and 60 abstentions, including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Egypt, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Those voting against the resolution included Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, Russia and Syria.

Also read: What are the risks surrounding Zaporizhzhya, the nuclear power plant in a war zone?

The resolution titled ‘Safety and security of nuclear facilities of Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant’ demanded that Russia “immediately cease its aggression against Ukraine and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.”

It also demanded that Russia urgently withdraw its military and other unauthorised personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and immediately return the plant to the full control of the sovereign and competent authorities of Ukraine to ensure its safety and security. It called for the “immediate cessation of the attacks” by Russia against the critical energy infrastructure of Ukraine, which increases the risk of a nuclear accident or incident at all nuclear facilities of Ukraine.

The draft resolution was introduced by Ukraine and was sponsored by over 50 member states, including France, Germany and the United States.

It called upon Moscow, until it returns the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant of Ukraine to the full control of the sovereign and competent authorities of Ukraine, to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia with timely and full access to all areas at the plant that are important for nuclear safety and security to allow the Agency to report fully on the nuclear safety and security situation at the site.

Resolution do not reflect reality: Russia

In the explanation of the vote before the vote on the resolution, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative Dmitry Polyanskiy said the General Assembly has “unfortunately” adopted many documents that are non-consensual, politicised and do not reflect reality.

“Make no mistake: votes in favour of today’s draft will be regarded by Kyiv, Washington, Brussels and London as evidence of support for their policy of further escalating the Ukrainian conflict to the detriment of steps taken by a sensible part of the international community to find a peaceful, sustainable and long-term solution to the conflict,” he said.

U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The United Nations (UN) nuclear chief on September 18 said he asked to meet Iran’s President on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to try to reverse Tehran’s “uncalled for” ban on “a very sizable chunk” of the agency’s inspectors.

Rafael Grossi stressed that the Iranian government’s removal of many agency cameras and electronic monitoring systems installed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also make it impossible to give assurances about the country’s nuclear programme.

Mr. Grossi said he wrote to President Ebrahim Raisi telling him it is “very important” to meet about Tehran’s targeting of inspectors, including “some of the best and most experienced”.

“I’m waiting for an answer,” Mr. Grossi said in an interview with The Associated Press on September 18.

He also warned that escalating fighting is increasing the danger of a nuclear accident at Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Ukraine. Mr. Grossi said he is seeking to re-establish a dialogue with North Korea, which expelled UN nuclear weapons inspectors in 2009.

And he invited China to see how the IAEA tests treated water released from Japan’s Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant, which led Beijing to ban Japanese seafood.

The IAEA chief said Iran has the right to determine who enters the country, but he said he didn’t understand why Tehran was withdrawing authorisation for a “good number” of inspectors, which is “making my job much more difficult”. He called it a step in the wrong direction.

“It’s very difficult to get the expertise to go to very sophisticated uranium enrichment facilities with thousands of (centrifuge) cascades, lots of tubing and piping, and it requires … a lot of experience,” he explained. “So, when you start limiting that … I have to say, this is not good. Stop it!” Iran has denied impeding the work of IAEA inspectors though it has also been years since its experts have been able to examine surveillance footage.

The Vienna-based IAEA reported earlier this month that Iran had slowed the pace of enriching uranium to nearly weapons-grade levels. That was seen as a sign that Tehran was trying to ease tensions after years of strain with the United States, and one that took place as the rivals were negotiating a prisoner swap and the release of billions in frozen Iranian assets — which all took place on Monday.

Since Iran started limiting the actions of IAEA inspectors a little over a year ago, Mr. Grossi said, the agency hasn’t been able to see how many centrifuges and parts needed to assemble them are being produced.

So when the IAEA has to draw a baseline of where Iran’s nuclear programme is, he said, “How do I do it?” Mr. Grossi said military operations are increasing near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is on the front line of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. The June 6 destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Russian-controlled territory led to deadly flooding, ruined crops in one of the world’s breadbaskets and lowered the level of water used to cool Zaporizhzhia’s reactors.

“Complications are adding up,” Mr. Grossi said, “and making the safety of the plant very, very fragile.” Initially, he said he urged both sides to adopt a no-fire zone outside the plant. That became impossible. So he has been urging the Ukrainians and Russians not to attack any nuclear plant.

Zaporizhzhia is in a Russian-controlled area but is staffed mainly by Ukrainians. There are also some Russian experts and IAEA inspectors who from time to time have acted as “a buffer” and defused some tense situations, Mr. Grossi said.

The IAEA chief called North Korea’s growing nuclear programme “one of the most difficult issues we have in front of us”.

Since the expulsion of IAEA inspectors in 2009, Mr. Grossi said, the agency has followed what Pyongyang has done from afar. “North Korea has become a de facto nuclear weapon possessor state,” he said, and that is “not a good development”.

Mr. Grossi said North Korea’s programme, including enrichment and construction of new reactors, has been growing without international monitoring or assessment of its safety. He wouldn’t say who the IAEA is engaging with to try to “turn the page” with North Korea but did say: “I am optimistic.” As for China’s concerns about the water being discharged from Japan’s Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant, Mr. Grossi said IAEA daily monitoring shows the level of tritium, a radionucleide that could be problematic, is extremely low.

The IAEA chief said South Korea also had concerns about the water being discharged from Fukushima, which was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011. He said he spoke to the President and Foreign Minister, and South Korea sent experts to see how the monitoring of the discharged water is being carried out.

Mr. Grossi said he wrote to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi a few days ago making a similar offer to explain the IAEA’s activities. He expressed hope that he could meet Wang in New York “to dispel doubts.” said Mr. Grossi: “I’m eager and available.”