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Safety at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant worsening, Ukraine states

Safety at the Russianheld Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine is intensifying daily, Ukraine's energy minister said on Friday, promising to keep pressuring Russia at the U.N. nuclear guard dog to withdraw from the website.

The International Atomic Energy Firm's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution late on Thursday condemning Russia's occupation of Europe's biggest nuclear reactor and expressing serious issue at lack of staffing and upkeep two years after its capture.

The general scenario is transferring to (a) nuclear mishap and it's really crucial to stop immediately this (Russian). presence, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko informed a. news conference.

The number of issues (has) just increased each day, each. day. And (in) one more month, we would have another problem. Another month, we will have some extra issues, he said,. adding that Ukraine would keep pushing for more resolutions.

The IAEA, which has a small existence at the plant, states the. scenario at Zaporizhzhia stays precarious. The plant has lost. all external power 8 times in the last 18 months, forcing it. to depend on diesel generators to cool the fuel in its reactors. and avoid a possibly devastating meltdown.

Russia and Ukraine, at war for more than two years, have. blamed each other for shelling that has actually downed power lines.

Ukrainian personnel who formerly worked for Ukrainian. state-owned power-generating company Energoatom continue to. Run the plant along with more recent Russian arrivals. some of the Ukrainians have been denied access since February. for declining to sign Russian contracts.

The staff working at the ZNPP now consists exclusively of. previous Energoatom staff members who have embraced Russian citizenship. and signed employment agreement with the Russian operating. entity, and staff who have been sent to the ZNPP from the. Russian Federation, a private IAEA report sent out to member. states recently and seen stated.

The ZNPP staff supposedly were continuing to be under. strong mental stress of different kinds, it added.

Before the war there were around 11,500 personnel at the plant,. the report said. Now IAEA personnel at the plant have been told that. number is around 4,500, while the variety of staff present each. day was around 2,000 in the previous quarter.

Russia says the plant has enough personnel to run the 6. reactors, which are presently in shutdown.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has put the variety of holdouts. refusing to sign Russian contracts at around 100. Galushchenko. stated that was another Russian lie and the genuine number was 380.

The issue is not even in the amount of individuals. The. issue is that these individuals are top-level workers. That's not. ... average personnel which you might easily substitute.

Grossi discussed Zaporizhzhia at a conference with Russian. President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that was expert and. frank, the IAEA said in a statement.

(source: Reuters)