The Ukrainian president said officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog, must have urgent access to the site. Zelensky blamed Thursday’s shelling by the Russian military for fires in the ashes of a nearby coal-fired power plant that disconnected the reactor complex, Europe’s largest such facility, from the power grid. He said backup diesel generators ensured power supply and kept the plant safe. “If our station staff had not reacted after the blackout, then we would have already had to overcome the consequences of a radioactive accident,” he said in an afternoon speech. “Russia has brought Ukraine and all Europeans to a situation one step away from a nuclear disaster.” IAEA officials should have access to the site within days, he said, “before the occupiers bring the situation to an impasse.” Negotiations are underway for the UN nuclear watchdog to visit the site, and Ukraine’s top nuclear official told the Guardian that IAEA inspectors could arrive by the end of the month. Until then, the ongoing battle puts the plant, and potentially much of Europe, at risk. A nuclear accident could spread radiation across the continent. Ukraine’s state-run nuclear company Energoatom said Thursday’s incident represented the plant’s first complete shutdown in its nearly 40 years of operation. Electricity is used for cooling and security systems. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February, seized the plant in March and has controlled it since, although Ukrainian technicians still operate it. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of bombing the site, fueling fears of a nuclear holocaust. The White House called on Russia to agree to a demilitarized zone around the plant after Joe Biden spoke with Zelensky on Thursday. The US State Department also warned Russia not to divert energy from the site. “The electricity it produces rightfully belongs to Ukraine, and any attempt to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian electricity grid and redirect it to occupied territories is unacceptable,” spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. “No country should turn a nuclear power plant into an active war zone, and we oppose any Russian efforts to equip or divert power from the plant.” The IAEA said Ukraine had informed it that the plant had temporarily lost connectivity, “further underscoring the urgent need for IAEA experts to travel to the facility”. “We cannot afford to waste any more time. I am determined to personally lead an IAEA mission to the plant in the coming days,” said the agency’s director-general, Rafael Grossi. Writing on Telegram, Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in the occupied city of Enerhodar near the plant, said satellite images showed the local forest on fire. He said towns in the region lost power for several hours Thursday. “This was caused by the disconnection of power lines from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as a result of the provocations of Zelenskiy’s militants,” Rogov claimed. “The disconnection itself was caused by a fire and a short circuit in the power lines.” Nuclear experts have warned of the risk of damage to the plant’s spent nuclear fuel tanks or reactors. Cuts in the power supply needed to cool the pools could cause a catastrophic collapse. There have been growing international concerns about safety at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. It has been occupied by Russian forces since the start of the war and is now used to house military vehicles and equipment. The complex supplied more than 20% of Ukraine’s electricity needs and its loss would put new pressure on the government. The head of Energoatom told the Guardian on Wednesday that Russian engineers had drawn up a plan to permanently disconnect the plant from the national grid and connect it to the Russian electricity grid. Petro Kotin said the plan was ostensibly aimed at maintaining the plant’s power supply if all connections to Ukraine were cut by fighting, as it was on Thursday. But Ukraine fears that Russia may deliberately cut the lines. Russian and Ukrainian forces have reached a relative stalemate in recent months, in part after the supply of new long-range missiles from the West has hampered Russia’s supply lines and ability to continue its attacks. Ukraine also says it lacks the weapons it needs to launch a decisive counterattack. With Reuters and Agence France-Presse
