Skip to content
Edit post

IAEA: "Dramatic reduction" in Ukrainian staff at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant threatens safety

by The Kyiv Independent news desk January 19, 2023 11:06 PM 1 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Become a member Support us just once

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), expressed concern about a “dramatic reduction” in Ukrainian staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant since Russia seized it in March 2022, CNN reported.

The number of employees has dropped from around 10,000 before the Russian occupation to 3,000 or less, Grossi said at a media briefing in Kyiv on Jan. 19.

Despite the decrease, the current number of employees, he said, is adequate for the situation as the plant is operating at a low level. “But of course it is a matter of concern,” Grossi added.

According to the IAEA head, a handful of the agency’s staff maintain the plant on the ground. He stressed that the Zaporizhzhia plant had shown resilience, having been on the very frontline ever since Russia’s all-out war broke.

“We know that a nuclear accident or an accident with serious radiological consequences is possible every day,” Grossi said.

Life near Russian-occupied nuclear plant: ‘I don’t know if tomorrow will come’
Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.
Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

4:50 PM

Ukraine, Poland ready to conclude agreement on joint border control.

In the document published following the talks, the parties "confirmed their readiness to conclude an Agreement on providing control at joint border checkpoints and cooperation of control bodies" and, once approved by the European Commission, "to launch logistical data exchange at selected road border crossing points."
Ukraine Daily
News from Ukraine in your inbox
Ukraine news
Please, enter correct email address
11:16 AM

Kuleba begins first trip to India.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was in the Indian capital New Delhi at the invitation of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and that the two would "pay specific attention to the peace formula" in their talks.
5:30 AM

Ukrainian POWs faced conditional release from Hungary.

Two Ukrainian prisoners of war, part of a group of 11 handed over to Hungary by Russia in June 2023, said in an interview to Deutsche Welle, that Hungarian representatives imposed conditions preventing their return to Ukraine until the war's end.
3:16 AM

Estonian police arrest citizen who reported for Russian state media.

Estonian police have arrested Svetlana Burceva, an Estonian citizen, for allegedly violating international sanctions having served as a reporter for Russian state sponsored Balt News - an arm of the Kremlin-run Russia Today (RT) news outlet, Estonian publication Eesti Ekspress reported on March 27.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.