The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi has warned on Saturday that Russia has mined Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (NPP).
Grossi said that Russia had previously mined the nuclear facility which were “removed” late last year, he then warned they “are now back in place.”
Grossi said, “Mines along the perimeter of the ZNPP, in a buffer zone between the facility’s internal and external fences, which were previously identified by the IAEA team and were removed in November 2023, are now back in place.
“This is a restricted area inaccessible to operational plant personnel. Director General Grossi reiterated that the presence of mines is inconsistent with the IAEA safety standards.”
Grossi added that this week Zaporizhia NPP lost its backup power to its reactor units for several hours, he warned that this indicates there is an ongoing nuclear safety risk.
The Director General of the IAEA said, “Thursday’s failure of two of the ZNPP’s back-up power electrical transformers showed the continuing vulnerability in the availability of external power, which the plant needs to cool its six reactors and for other essential nuclear safety and security functions.”
