The cooling tower at the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine was severely damaged in a fire last month and may need to be demolished, Reuters quoted Rafael Grossi - General Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as saying.
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog is on a fifth visit to the plant in Ukraine. The plant has been under control of Russian forces since the conflict broke out in February 2022. Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of attacking the plant, increasing the risk of nuclear accidents.
Mr. Grossi posted a video on the X platform assessing the damage at the cooling tower of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "This large structure cannot be used in the future so it could be destroyed at some point," he said.
The fire broke out in the district heater of Europe's largest nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhia on August 11 as Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the fire.
The Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine, Europe's largest nuclear power plant with six reactors, has been put into closed-door mode, not producing electricity.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant needs an external power source to ensure nuclear materials are cooled and accidents are prevented.
At the time, Mr. Grossi described it as one of many "reckless attacks", but did not accuse either side of being the cause.
The video also shows IAEA head Grossi checking a pumping station. Water supply to the plant is depleted after the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was destroyed last year. He also visited a nuclear fuel storage facility.
IAEA head Grossi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on September 3. He said the situation in Zaporizhzhia was "very fragile". The plant has IAEA supervisors and has been in place since 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 in Kursk because Ukrainian forces were 40 km from the plant. Ukraine launched a raid on Russia's Kursk region late last month.
In other developments, Reuters reported on September 5 that a unit of the South Ukrainian nuclear power plant had reduced capacity after a Russian attack affected Ukraine's power transmission system.
energy energy company Energoatom said on September 4: "No accidents have occurred at the South Ukrainian nuclear power plant." However, Energoatom added that the plant's output was reduced by half after the shelling of Ukrenergo's infrastructure led to "significant fluctuations in grid parameters".
In recent months, Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been hit by many attacks by missiles and Russian drones.
Officials say Ukraine has lost about half of its power generation capacity and is now relying heavily on the energy generated by three nuclear power plants. The fourth-largest nuclear power plant in Europe Zaporizhzhia is currently under Russian control and is not generating electricity.
