Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, paid a visit to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, yesterday. According to TASS, he assessed the water level in the cooling pond at the plant, while he was there and found it to be normal. ZNPP officials also showed him the pumping station, in particular one of the outer walls, which bears traces of shrapnel from Ukrainian shells. “The traces unmistakably point to where the strikes came from - from the territory controlled by Ukraine,” said Renat Karchaa, an adviser to Rosenergoatom’s CEO.
“We have a political agreement which was formulated at the [UN] Security Council. Reaching a written agreement would be unrealistic at this stage because, as we know, there are no peace or ceasefire negotiations between the parties,” he said at a briefing following his visit to the plant. Grossi pointed out that the IAEA is not a military police force, but the agency can record any violations and inform the international community through the presence of inspectors at the plant.
Grossi also stressed that his proposals were supported by the UN Security Council. He stressed that he wants the world to be “aware of the danger” that there could be a “major accident.”
For Russia, it’s crucial that the IAEA actually assign responsibility for the shelling of the plant. “ According to Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy in Vienna, “it remains to be seen “ whether the IAEA will identify specific culprits.
TASS reports that ZNPP officials actually presented shell fragments to Grossi, fragments that came from US-supplied 155mm shells fired out of US-supplied M777 howitzers.
Grossi later said on twitter that his team gathered sufficient information for assessing conditions at the plant. “We believe that we have gathered a good amount of information for an assessment of the situation, and we will continue permanently monitoring the situation there in order to help prevent a nuclear accident,” he said.
