IAEA chief visits Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for second time

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi arrived on Wednesday at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar.

It is the second time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that Mr Grossi has visited the plant.

The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.

According to Energoatom, Ukraine’s state operator of nuclear facilities, the IAEA chief "plans to see how the situation at Zaporizhzhia NPP has changed, talk to the nuclear workers at the plant, and act as a guarantor for the rotation of members of the agency's permanent mission, which has been working at Zaporizhzhia NPP since September 2022."

Mr Grossi, who arrived in Ukraine on Monday, already visited the Dnipro hydroelectric power plant together with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The IAEA has repeatedly called for the establishment of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

However, the plant and surrounding areas are periodically subjected to shelling, causing it to switch to emergency operation.