The IAEA insists on sending a mission to the Zaporizhia plant “as soon as possible”

Aug. 19 () –

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reiterated this Friday its “urgent” appeal to Russians and Ukrainians to act with “maximum containment” at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and maintains contacts to be able to send “as soon as possible” a mission of experts.

The director general of the agency, Rafael Grossi, has recognized the willingness of kyiv and Moscow to accept the arrival of this team, but now he hopes that these gestures will allow an IAEA mission to reach the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

The “signs of growing tension” worry this organization, which fears a nuclear accident with unforeseeable consequences. The situation is “serious”, according to Grossi, so it is necessary to guarantee above all the safety of the facilities and their personnel.

Grossi, who has offered to lead this mission, considers it “vitally important” that no action be taken that could put the safety of the plant at risk, given that the situation today remains “volatile and fragile”. “.

“There is an urgent need to lower tensions and take the necessary steps to guarantee nuclear safety and prevent any radiological effect on the population and the environment,” the IAEA chief executive said in a statement.

The agency was already able to visit the Chernobyl nuclear power plant after the start of the Russian nuclear offensive, but for now it has not been able to access the Zaporizhia plant. The plant is under the control of Russian troops, although Ukrainian personnel continue to work there.