ALBAWABA – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has told Russia and Ukraine to show "political will" to protect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. This is because drone and missile strikes between the two countries have raised concerns about the safety of Europe's largest nuclear facility.
Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA, said that both sides must make sure that engineers can reconnect the plant's external power line and do important work without putting their lives in danger. He said that making the facility safe is a political decision, not a technical one, and he confirmed that he is still in touch with officials in Moscow and Kyiv.
Since the first few weeks of the invasion, the plant has been in Russian hands. On September 23, the site lost power again. This was the tenth time since the war started. The reactors no longer make power, but they still need to be cooled, which is currently done with emergency diesel generators.
Grossi also used last week's 16-hour power outage at the closed Chernobyl plant as an example of how weak Ukraine's nuclear sites are. He also said that officials in Zaporizhzhia had said they were willing to work with Washington, but only if Russian officials agreed.
The warnings came out while Moscow and Kyiv were blaming each other for strikes near the site. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine was playing a "dangerous game" by attacking around Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said that Russia was cutting off external lines on purpose to connect the plant to its own grid.
In the meantime, Russia's Defense Ministry said that air defenses shot down 117 Ukrainian drones overnight in several areas and over the Black Sea. In Ukraine, regional officials said that three people were hurt and infrastructure was damaged in Zaporizhzhia, and fires broke out in Chernihiv after Russian drone strikes.
As the war enters its fourth winter, Russia has increased attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, causing long power outages in some areas. The war has been going on for three years now, and Moscow is still asking Kyiv to give up any plans to join Western military alliances. Ukraine refuses this request, saying it would be an invasion of its sovereignty.
