Attack loop: IAEA confirmed risks for Zaporizhzhya NPP

The number of attacks on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is increasing. This was stated by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, who arrived in Moscow on 7 February to meet with the head of Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev. According to the head of the Russian state corporation, nuclear safety risks for other nuclear power plants are also increasing because of Ukraine's actions. One of the main topics of the talks, which took place at VDNKh, was also the issue of rotation of IAEA specialists at ZNPP. Last time this process had to be postponed, but the replacement of specialists should still take place in the near future.

Situation around Zaporizhzhya NPP

Another round of interagency consultations between the IAEA and Rosatom delegations ended in Moscow on February 7. The meeting between Alexei Likhachev and Rafael Grossi took place in the Atom pavilion at VDNKh. The Russian delegation also included Alexander Trembitsky, head of Rostekhnadzor, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces of the Russian Armed Forces and the Russian Federal Guard.

Prior to his trip to Moscow, Grossi visited Kiev on February 4 - this is his 11th visit to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian special operation. The IAEA director, in particular, inspected the Kiev electric substation. Later, Grossi recalled the threat of a nuclear accident, which, he said, could occur not only as a result of a direct strike, but also due to a disruption of power supply. "The IAEA is here to assess the consequences, provide support and help prevent this risk," he wrote on social network X.

One of the key topics of the talks in Moscow was the situation around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. "We informed in the deepest way the esteemed IAEA delegation about the measures that are being taken to unconditionally ensure the nuclear safety of the Zaporizhzhya NPP. Both in terms of technical state of affairs and physical protection of Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant", - Alexey Likhachev said after the talks. At the same time, according to him, "the risks of attacks by the AFU are growing.

- We see it in the number of downed drones and missiles, and in the number of artillery strikes, which come to the territory practically adjacent to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, and it causes concern, - said the head of Rosatom.

The number of attacks on ZNPP is increasing and the security situation remains grave, Grossi agreed. However, he said, fragments of the drones that attacked Zaporizhzhya NPP make it impossible to establish their origin. "Small fragments of plastic or wood left from the alleged UAVs, drones do not allow us to talk about the origin of these fragments and these apparatuses. Nevertheless, I would like to assure you that I raise these issues at the highest level of international discussions," Grossi said.

The talks held in Moscow "were more important than ever," the agency head said. Partly also because they discussed the issue of changing the IAEA experts at the Zaporizhzhya NPP. Because of the hostilities, the agency had to postpone the rotation, which will take place in the next few days, Rafael Grossi said.

The rotation was planned to be held on February 5, but it did not take place. On that day, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russia had provided security guarantees to the agency's secretariat specialists and their escorts, describing the specific scheme of the rotation, but less than two days before it was to take place, the IAEA proposed to change the previously agreed and tested procedure for crossing the line of contact. The proposed IAEA conditions, according to Zakharova, created high risks for both representatives of the international organization and the Russian military.

Risks for Kursk and Smolensk NPPs

On the eve of the meeting, IAEA inspectors reported explosions, including in the immediate vicinity of the NPP. The attacks, they said, lasted for much of last week. They have regularly reported incidents near the plant in recent months.

According to Russian reports, on February 2, the town of Energodar, where the nuclear plant is located, was hit by Ukrainian kamikaze drones. There were at least seven attempts to attack the plant, some of them were suppressed with the help of REB, said Maxim Pukhov, the town's acting head of administration.

Before that, a major attack on ZNPP happened on January 5. Then the Russian military managed to shoot down eight Ukrainian drones, one of them exploded on the roof of the plant's training center.

- There is certainly a need to strengthen the security of ZNPP and the city of Energodar, because provocations from Ukraine continue. Shelling can disrupt the storage of solid nuclear waste, which can lead to contamination of the area. But except for air defense systems it is impossible to do this yet," military expert Viktor Litovkin told Izvestia.

ZNPP came under Russian control back in February 2022. According to Vladimir Zelensky, "liberation" of the plant by political and diplomatic means is on the agenda. Thus, it is to be expected that the future of ZNPP may become the focus of potential negotiations between the conflicting parties.

However, according to Yevgeny Balitsky, governor of Zaporizhzhya region, the US has already effectively recognized that the plant belongs to Russia the moment it imposed restrictions against it in January this year. "By imposing sanctions on the Zaporizhzhya NPP, the US government has actually officially recognized that both the plant itself and the Zaporizhzhya region, on whose territory it is located, belong to the Russian Federation," he said.

Because of the fighting, however, there are growing risks to nuclear security in other regions as well, the Rosatom CEO said following the meeting. "This is the invasion of the AFU in the Kursk region and the corresponding risks for the Kursk nuclear power plant, it is dozens of downed drones, missiles on approach or towards the Smolensk nuclear power plant, on the energy infrastructure. All this, unfortunately, increases the risks of nuclear safety, requires us to take appropriate actions, requires an appropriate response from the IAEA," said Alexei Likhachev.

Meanwhile, Rafael Grossi noted the central role of Rosatom in the development of peaceful atom on the planet. The parties agreed that nuclear energy could become an important factor of economic growth and development. Likhachev, in turn, said that Russia intends to increase its participation in various international projects. He also said that Russia is "ready to inform the world community and the world nuclear family about plans to develop the country's nuclear power industry, including the development of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant".