The IAEA says it has intermittently lost connection with the nuclear material monitoring systems at the power plant
The head of the UN nuclear agency has requested access to a Ukrainian nuclear power plant now controlled by Russian forces to determine whether it is a source of danger.
Contact with Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, located in Zaporizhia and operated by Ukrainian technicians, is “fragile” and communications do not work every day, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Raphael Grossi told Swiss newspaper Tages. -Anzeiger.
“We cannot have problematic cross-pollination with the station in areas related to security. We are aware of allegations that ammunition has been stored at the station, that there are attacks on the power station,” he said in the interview published in German.
“Honestly, if I don’t have access, I can’t determine that. There are contradictions between the narratives of the Russian and Ukrainian sides. I get information, I mention it in my situation reports, but I have no way of determining if it is factual.”
A Russian-appointed official in Ukraine said today that Ukrainian forces have repeatedly used Western weapons to attack the plant, which operates two of its six reactors and has received repeated warnings from Ukraine, the West and Russia. .
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Monday called Russia’s actions around the station “the height of irresponsibility” and accused Moscow of using it as a “nuclear shield” in its attacks on Ukrainian forces.
Reuters is unable to confirm either side’s reports from the battlefields.
Grossi said UN talks with the parties involved in the conflict are covering a proposed agreement on safety zones around nuclear plants, but he sees no willingness to reach an agreement at this stage.
Access to the station is difficult, and traveling to it through occupied territory would require special security arrangements, Grossi said. Talks are underway with the Ukrainian government to arrange a visit.
The IAEA says it has intermittently lost connection with the nuclear material monitoring systems at the power plant.
RES-EMP
Read the News today and get the latest news. Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
