IAEA's expert team conducts rotation at occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant after 3-week delay

Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, reported on March 2 the rotation of the agency's team of experts stationed at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

"I am incredibly proud of the professionalism of our staff. Very thankful to the UN for their support. The IAEA will not stop," he wrote in a post that showed a video of agency experts crossing the front line on foot.

On March 1, Grossi publicly voiced his concern that the rotation had not occurred for three weeks, adding that it was a "concerning trend that shows the urgency and importance of establishing a nuclear safety and security protection zone at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant."

On Feb. 25, the IAEA team noted that the backup powerline at the plant was disconnected due to ongoing military action. Although it was reconnected briefly, it was lost again later that morning. Eventually, the powerline was restored on the following day.

IAEA experts have been monitoring the situation at the nuclear power plant since September. According to Grossi, IAEA experts have seen increasing Russian security personnel in the past few weeks.

Since the beginning of March 2022, the Zaporizhzhia plant has been under the control of Russian troops, who have utilized it as a military base and launched assaults on Ukraine from the plant's territory. The Ukrainian employees at the plant have been subjected to repeated acts of violence and threats by Russian troops, with the intention of compelling them to cooperate.

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The Kyiv Independent