"We are dangerously close to a nuclear disaster" in Zaporozhye, warned the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Raphael Grossi, criticizing the recent attacks on the Ukrainian nuclear power plant, reported France Presse, quoted by BTA.
The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant complex in southern Ukraine, occupied since March 2022 by Russia, has been the target of a series of drone attacks since April 7, for which Moscow and Kiev blame each other.
"These reckless attacks" - the first aimed directly at Europe's largest nuclear power plant since November 2022 until now - "must stop immediately,", Grossi said at a UN Security Council meeting dedicated to the issue.
"While fortunately they did not cause a radiation incident this time, they significantly increased the risk at the Zaporizhia NPP, where nuclear safety is already compromised. In addition, they set a "dangerous precedent after successfully reaching the protective structure of the reactor", added the head of the UN agency, which sent its experts to the site.
"The two years of war had a heavy impact on the security of the Zaporizhia plant. Every one of the IAEA's seven pillars of nuclear safety and security were compromised. We cannot stand idly by and wait for one last drop to tip the delicately balanced scales," Grossi noted.
"Even though all six reactors of the plant are in a "cold shutdown" mode, with the last unit being put into such mode two days ago on the recommendation of the IAEA, the potential risk of a major nuclear accident remains very real," he stressed. Grossi, quoted by TASS.