Head of UN nuclear watchdog warns about nuclear accident in Zaporizhzhia attack

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Thursday that recent attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) "significantly" increased the risk of a nuclear accident.

Rafael Mariano Grossi stressed the need for refraining from any action violating the IAEA’s concrete principles, in reference to the "direct attacks" against Zaporizhzhia.

"On Sunday, direct attacks against Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant marked a major escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers in Ukraine," said Grossi.

He urged the international community to actively work toward a de-escalation of what is a "very serious situation."

"We are meeting today and I will meet the UN Security Council next week because it is of paramount importance to ensure these reckless attacks do not mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war," Grossi said at an IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on the situation in Zaporizhzhia.

He noted that Sunday, the International Support and Assistance Mission to ZNPP (ISAMZ) confirmed the first attacks since November 2022 to directly target the plant, Europe’s largest.

"One of these attacks resulted in a direct hit on the reactor dome of Unit 6," said Grossi, adding that the other two attacks were in close proximity to the main reactor buildings and resulted in at least one casualty.

"A further drone attack and burst of rifle fire were reported on Tuesday, and ominous indication of an apparent readiness to continue these attacks, despite the grave danger they pose to nuclear safety and security," he said.

He went on to say that attacking a nuclear power plant is an "absolute no-go," reiterating that such attacks mean endangering nuclear safety.

"I call on maximum restraint and clear observance by all, of these fundamental, straight forward, indispensable principles," added Grossi.

Levent Eler, Türkiye’s permanent representative to the UN's office in Vienna, said attacks against nuclear facilities may lead to "devastating consequences of a total lose-lose situation."

"The observance of the seven indispensable pillars and five basic principles is of key importance," he noted.

Eler also expressed Türkiye's support for Grossi's efforts.