IAEA: inspectors were not allowed to the shut down reactors of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has issued a statement on behalf of its Director General Rafael Grossi on the situation in Ukraine, most of which is devoted to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

IAEA observers are at the plant, they regularly walk around the facility, but still do not have access to all parts of it, the statement, cited by the BBC, said.

At the same time, in the last two weeks, IAEA experts were for the first time prevented from entering the reactor halls of the first, second and sixth power units, which are loaded, said the organization's director general, Rafael Grossi. The reactor cores and spent nuclear fuel are located there. Inspectors are still not allowed into the turbine rooms of the third, fourth and sixth units.

In addition, although it was planned that on December 19 they would be granted access to the roofs of the reactor units, this has not yet happened.

Of the six reactors at ZNPP, five are shut down. Unit 4 is hot and continues to produce steam and heat.

The IAEA team "continued to hear regular explosions at a certain distance" from the Zaporizhzhia NPP in recent weeks.

IAEA inspectors are also constantly present at the remaining Ukrainian NPPs located in the rear and under the control of the Ukrainian authorities – Rivne, Khmelnytsky, South Ukraine and the emergency Chernobyl NPP. Nuclear safety requirements are being met there, the organization said in a statement.

On December 29, the IAEA team at the Rivne NPP was informed that a cruise missile had flown nearby.

Background. As a reminder, Ukrainian power engineers have repaired the only main power line connecting ZNPP to the grid. Until then, Zaporizhzhia NPP had been on the verge of another blackout for almost a whole day.