It is an enclave of the Russian army, nestled in a territory still controlled by Ukrainian soldiers. And for the Kremlin, this war prize – which dates back to March 4 – is crucial: it is the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. As the two sides fight for land, the bombings, strikes and assaults that have taken place there in recent weeks have the international community fearing a catastrophe.
“The risks are real,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a France 24 guest on Thursday.
“There were attacks, bombings,” he recalled, even assuring: “The military operations have worsened.” Attacks he stressed were “unacceptable”.
In addition, according to him, the threat is also due to the unstable alliance between the invader and the personnel working on the site: “It is an important facility, it is the largest power plant in Europe that is occupied by Russian forces, but where Ukrainian operators are already operating, this is an unprecedented situation.”
Rafael Mariano Grossi pointed out one last danger: “There is always the possibility of an interruption in the electrical supply to the plant that could cause the plant’s cooling system to be interrupted.”
An imminent visit from the IAEA
The director of the IAEA, who spoke with Emmanuel Macron in the morning, was however the bearer of good news. His agency finally got “agreement in principle” from the two enemies but also from international institutions to go there.
“It’s very fast, in a few days,” he promised. “Il n’y a plus de blocage, il ya eu des doutes, des objections politiques des deux côtés mais nous en sommes arrivés à un stade où nous sommes tout près d’une acceptance totale des deux côtés”, at- he explains.
His recent intervention in the UN Security Council allowed him to gauge the consensus around the importance of his mission. “Everyone said one thing: ‘The agency has to go.’ We are reaching a point where we cannot risk, in addition to the drama of war, a nuclear accident”, launched Rafael Mariano Grossi.
inspection issues
In addition to preventing such a cataclysm, the IAEA director listed the challenges of this impending inspection visit. In the first place, he will try to attribute the paternity of the attacks perpetrated against the plant while the Russians and Ukrainians deny their responsibility. “Mutual accusations intersect. Hence the need for the presence of the global nuclear inspector that is the agency”, he observed.
According to the Argentine president, this presence could also discourage these attacks: “The way to stabilize the situation is to have an international presence there. President Macron has been in contact with President Zelensky, President Putin and myself. We try to find the political minimum to start the technical part”.
to be sure
There are still other concerns about Russian actions in the Zaporizhia power plant. The Ukrainians suspect that Moscow stores heavy weapons there, or that it wants to remove it from the Ukrainian and European power grid to supply Crimea. “Let me go and we’ll see. It’s one of my tasks to see if it’s true or not,” Rafael Mariano Grossi said only about these points.
Finally, he specified the form that the conclusions of this visit would take, revealing its purely advisory function: “We are making a report, we will have recommendations for the international community, hoping that the parties will follow up on it.”
Source: BFM TV
