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IAEA chief: No way to restart Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant at this time

The head of the UN nuclear safety watchdog stated on Tuesday that the idled Zaporizhzhia plant, which is occupied by Russia, was not in a position to restart at this time due to the lack of cooling water and a stable electricity supply.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said that water would need to be pumped out of the Dnipro River to restart the plant. It hasn't generated electricity for almost three years.

In March 2022, Russia occupied the facility in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Region, Europe's biggest nuclear plant. This was shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion against its neighbor. The plant produced a fifth (of Ukraine's) electricity before the war.

Grossi, in an interview with Kyiv, said that the Russians "never concealed the fact" they wanted to restart the factory, but they wouldn't be able do so anytime soon.

The plant is located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from Ukrainian positions across the Dnipro River. The plant has six reactors. The last one stopped producing electricity in September 2022.

After the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed, the water level in its cooling pond on the southern Dnipro bank dropped dramatically during the summer of 2023.

The nearby areas are regularly bombarded by artillery or drones, which can damage the remaining power lines that supply the electricity required for the plant to self-cool, even when it is dormant.

Both sides blame each other for the attacks.

Greenpeace released a report on Monday stating that Russia is building a 90 km high-voltage line to connect its power plant with the grid.

Grossi stated that the IAEA disagreed with the conclusions of this report.

There are areas where some work has been done, but we have no concrete evidence to suggest that this was part of an orchestrated, concerted plan to connect the plant in some sense.

"We do not have a situation where the plant is about to restart imminently." Grossi stated that it would be a long time before the plant could be restarted.

He added that the plant's machinery must be thoroughly checked before any restart.

"You can imagine that in a piece of machinery of this size, there are pumps, bolts, pipes and a variety of other things which may be corroded."

Grossi stated that all six reactors of the plant could be restarted if sufficient water was pumped into the Dnipro River. However, "a number" of things would have to be done before.

RUSSIAN TECHNICIANS

Ukraine said that any attempt made by Russian technicians to restart this plant would be dangerous as they are not certified operators.

Grossi stated that Russian nuclear staff was capable of restarting the reactor, and the certification issue was more political than technical.

He said, "They're professionals - they know what they're doing."

Ukraine also protested against the IAEA monitoring mission that visited the plant via Russian-occupied territory.

Grossi explained that he was doing this to protect his staff and because he did not yet have the guarantees he needed from the Russians to transit IAEA personnel safely through the frontlines into Ukraine-controlled territory as a number of times before. (Reporting and editing by William Maclean, Frances Kerry and Max Hunder)

(source: Reuters)