There are currently no conditions for the resumption of the Zaporizhzhia NPP due to a lack of cooling water and stable power supply, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said today, quoted by Reuters, writes BTA.
In an interview with the agency, given from Kiev, Grossi said that water for the currently closed Zaporizhzhia NPP must be pumped from the Dnieper River.
The nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region was occupied by Russia in March 2022, shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion invasion.
Grossi said the Russians "have never hidden the fact" that they want to restart the power plant, but they will not be able to do so in the near future.
"We are not in a situation of imminent restart of the power plant. We are far from that, it will take a long time before that can be done," the IAEA spokesman said.
Grossi added that the machinery at the plant, which has not been operating for three years, must be thoroughly inspected before restarting.
Ukraine said that an attempt by Russian technicians to restart the power plant would be dangerous because they are not certified to work at the Zaporizhzhia NPP. Grossi, however, noted that Russian nuclear personnel are capable of performing a restart and that the certification issue is more political than technical.
Ukraine has also protested the IAEA's monitoring mission to the plant, which has access to it through Russian-occupied territory. Grossi said this was to protect the safety of his personnel and that he currently does not have the necessary guarantees from the Russian side for the safe passage of IAEA personnel across the front line to Ukrainian-controlled territory, as has been done several times before.