UN nuclear chief warns against complacency about Russian-held plant in Ukraine

Breanne Deppisch

January 19, 05:39 PM January 19, 05:39 PM

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The head of the United Nations’s nuclear watchdog agency said Thursday he fears that the world is growing complacent about the possibility of catastrophe at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, citing an uptick in recent military activity and Russian missile strikes in the area.

Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said Thursday that a nuclear accident could happen at the plant any day and reiterated how grave the situation remains at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as he works to push for more safeguards around the facility.

“I worry that this is becoming routine, that people may believe that nothing has happened so far, so is the director-general of the IAEA crying wolf?” Grossi said.

“[An accident] can happen any time, and my duty is to do everything I can to prevent that from happening,” he added.

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Russian forces have targeted Zaporizhzhia and the southeast portions of Ukraine in a string of recent missile attacks, including most recently on Monday night.

That attack damaged industrial infrastructure and wounded at least three civilians, two of whom were children, according to local officials.

Last September, troops struck a convoy of civilian vehicles in the area, killing at least 30 Ukrainian civilians and wounding 100 others.

Grossi led a team of IAEA inspectors to the facility last fall, and a permanent staff of at least four remains at the site.

Since then, he has been working to set up a permanent safety zone around the nuclear plant.

He has repeatedly cited violations of the plant’s safety, noting in an interview last summer that it is in a location where “active war is ongoing.”

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“I remain determined to make the much-needed protection zone a reality as soon as possible,” Grossi told reporters earlier this week.