The cooling tower at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine was severely damaged in a fire last month and may have to be demolished, Reuters quoted Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as saying.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog is on his fifth visit to the plant in Ukraine, which has been under Russian control since the conflict broke out in February 2022. Moscow and Kiev have frequently accused each other of attacking the plant, raising the risk of a nuclear accident.
Mr Grossi posted a video on the X platform assessing the damage to the cooling tower at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "This large structure cannot be used in the future, so it will probably be demolished at some point," he said.
A fire broke out at the cooling tower of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, on August 11 as Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the blaze.
The Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine, Europe's largest nuclear power plant with six nuclear reactors , has been placed in cold shutdown mode, producing no electricity.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant needs an external power source to ensure nuclear material is cooled and prevent accidents.
At the time, Mr Grossi described it as one of many "reckless attacks", but did not blame either side.
The video also shows IAEA chief Grossi inspecting a pumping station. The plant’s water supply is running low after the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was destroyed last year. He also visits a nuclear fuel storage facility.
IAEA chief Grossi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on September 3. He said the situation at Zaporizhzhia was “very fragile.” The plant will have IAEA monitors deployed from mid-2022.
Last week, Mr Grossi also visited the Kursk nuclear power plant in southern Russia. He said there was a risk of a nuclear accident at Kursk because Ukrainian forces were 40 km away from the plant. Ukraine launched a raid on Russia's Kursk region late last month.
In another development, Reuters reported on September 5 that a unit of the South Ukraine nuclear power plant had its capacity reduced after a Russian attack affected Ukraine's power transmission system.
"There was no accident at the South Ukraine nuclear power plant," Energoatom said on September 4. However, Energoatom added that the plant's output was halved after shelling of the infrastructure of the Ukrenergo power company led to "significant fluctuations in the parameters of the power grid."
In recent months, Ukraine's energy infrastructure has come under repeated Russian missile and drone attacks.
Ukraine has lost about half its generating capacity and now relies mainly on power from three nuclear power plants , officials said . The fourth, Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, is under Russian control and is not generating electricity.
