The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says shelling has caused a near blackout in the town near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine where the plant’s operators live, adding to the increasingly precarious situation at the plant.
Rafael Grossi said in a statement on September 9 that he learned from IAEA staff on-site about the blackout, which developed the night before at the plant.
The power infrastructure feeding the town of Enerhodar has been destroyed by shelling of the switchyard at the town’s thermal power plant, leading to a complete power blackout, the statement said.
Grossi says, given the situation, there is significant risk of an impact on the availability of essential staff at the site to continue to safely operate Zaporizhzhya.
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"I therefore urgently call for the immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area," Grossi said. "Only this will ensure the safety and security of operating staff and allow the durable restoration of power to Enerhodar and to the power plant."
Russia's ambassador to the IAEA said Moscow backed Grossi's call.
"We fully support the appeal and demand of the #IAEA Director General that shelling of the town of Enerhodar and the #ZNPP must stop immediately," Mikhail Ulyanov said on Twitter.
Grossi added that the IAEA understands that as a result of the development the operator is considering shutting down the only reactor still in operation. The plant would then be fully reliant on emergency diesel generators for ensuring nuclear safety and security functions, he said.
"This is an unsustainable situation and is becoming increasingly precarious. Enerhodar has gone dark. The power plant has no offsite power. And we have seen that once infrastructure is repaired, it is damaged once again," Grossi said.
Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for shelling near and inside the perimeter of the nuclear power plant, Europe's largest.
Russian forces took over the plant soon after launching their invasion of Ukraine in February, but Ukrainian technicians still operate the power station.
The IAEA reported earlier this week that its recent inspection of Zaporizhzhya demonstrated an "untenable" situation at the plant and "an urgent need for interim measures" to avoid a nuclear accident.
The agency urged Russia and Ukraine to establish a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the plant and said shelling at the site and its vicinity should stop immediately.
Meanwhile, in Vienna, the UN watchdog's board of governors is expected to call on Russia to cease all actions at Ukraine's nuclear facilities, according to a draft resolution that diplomats say Poland and Canada have prepared ahead of next week's meeting of the board.
The draft, obtained by Reuters, is being circulated among the 35 countries on the board and is a follow-up to a resolution that was passed by an emergency board meeting in March and that only Russia and China opposed.
Diplomats quoted by Reuters say the aim is to show Russia is isolated diplomatically and to pressure it to end its occupation of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.
The draft text says the board "deplores the Russian Federation's persistent violent actions against nuclear facilities in Ukraine, including the ongoing presence of Russian forces and [Russian nuclear agency] personnel at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant."