UN nuclear watchdog head visits Ukraine to discuss safety

On his first visit to the country since Russia’s invasion prompted fears of a nuclear disaster, UN atomic watchdog director Rafael Grossi visited a nuclear power facility in southern Ukraine on Wednesday.

He has warned repeatedly about the perils of the battle, which is the first in a country with a large nuclear arsenal.

On the first day of the invasion, Russian forces took control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant site, where radioactive waste is still housed.

On March 4, they also took control of Europe’s largest nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia, causing anxiety when bombardment ignited a fire at a training facility.

“I’m at South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant to meet Ukrainian government officials and staff, and start IAEA technical assistance for safety and security of country’s nuclear facilities,” the International Atomic Energy Agency head wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

“Vital to be on the ground to provide effective support to in these extremely difficult times.”

Grossi also thanked the staff of the plant near the town of Yuzhnoukrainsk for “their endurance and resilience”.

“I want to say that we are here with you, that we are ready to support you in whatever way and form we can,” he said in a video message also posted on Twitter.

Grossi arrived in Ukraine on Tuesday to meet with government officials and bring specialists and equipment “to help prevent the danger of a nuclear accident.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not stated how long he will remain in Ukraine.

Ukraine has 15 reactors at four operational nuclear power plants, as well as nuclear waste storage facilities, including at Chernobyl, the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.

Grossi met with the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia in Turkey earlier this month to discuss nuclear security, but no deal has yet been achieved.

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