IAEA expects to visit Zaporiyia “in the next few days” if negotiations are successful

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed that it is maintaining “very active and intense” contacts with the Russian and Ukrainian authorities and that, if negotiations are successful, a mission from the agency could visit “in the next few days” the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe.

The IAEA receives regular information on the situation at these facilities, which have been seized by Russian forces since the beginning of March and in the vicinity of which fighting continues. The director of the organization, Rafael Grossi, sees it as “vital” that a team can check ‘in situ’ how everything is.

“The presence of the IAEA will help stabilize nuclear safety and the security situation in this enclave and reduce the risk of a serious nuclear accident in Europe,” he said in a statement.

Ukrainian authorities have reported several damages to the facility over the past few days. On Monday, a shelling disrupted for a few hours an electrical network supplying power to the Zaporiyia plant.