A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) departed this morning for the nuclear site in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. Fierce fighting continues around Europe's largest nuclear power plant, raising concerns about a potential nuclear disaster.
"We must protect the security of the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Europe," said Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the UN nuclear watchdog, who will lead the team. Previously, The New York Times had reported that Grossi was part of a team on the expert mission, which included "13 other experts from mostly neutral countries."
"Neither the United States nor Britain, countries that Russia scorns as unfairly biased because of their strong support for Ukraine, is represented," the NYT reported.
According to the IAEA, the team has a range of assignments, including determining physical damage to the site, measuring the effectiveness of the safety and security systems and evaluating conditions for personnel in order to take urgent action.
Haunting memory of Chernobyl
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, in the southeast of Ukraine, has been under Russian control since the start of March. Last week, fears of a nuclear disaster heightened after the nuclear reactor was temporarily cut off from the electrical grid on Thursday due to fire damage.
The electrical line affected carried power to run cooling systems essential for the safe operation of the reactors. It was only emergency generators that kept the reactors stable. The region temporarily lost power as the outgoing line was carrying, according to the governor of the region.
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The nuclear power plant on the Dnipro is the largest in Europe and houses six of the 15 Ukrainian nuclear reactors. Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, the nuclear site produced a fifth of Ukraine's electricity, making it a site of strategic importance for Ukraine's energy supplies.
Officials in Kyiv believe that Russia has taken over control of the nuclear power plant to divert electricity from Ukraine to Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2024.
