Grossi to visit Zaporizhzhia, warns security situation remains 'extremely challenging' 

Grossi visited the Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia earlier this week as fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces continues in that region. He was shown damage from drones in the area, and he is due to discuss the nuclear safety situation with both sides in the coming days.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has had a permanent presence at the six-unit Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) since September 2022. It has been under Russian military control since early March 2022 and is on, or very near, the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

In his latest update on the situation, Grossi said the IAEA team continues to hear explosions. He said: "Two years after I launched our mission at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, it is needed more than ever. As these recent deeply concerning incidents make all too clear, the nuclear safety and security situation ... remains extremely challenging."

There are also IAEA teams at Ukraine's three other operating nuclear power plants - and Chernobyl - and Grossi warned about the risks of losing off-site power, as has happened on occasions at ZNPP, as a result of attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure: "While none of the plants lost all their access to the national electricity grid ... I'm increasingly concerned about the growing vulnerability of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and the potential impact this is having on the safety of all Ukraine’s operating nuclear power plants."

Ukraine and Russia each accuse the other side of putting nuclear safety at risk and breaching the IAEA's central safety principles for nuclear facilities. Grossi explained at the United Nations in April that the IAEA would not attribute blame without "indisputable proof" and said the agency aims to "keep the information as accurate as we can and we do not trade into speculating".