The experts of IAEA, the international nuclear agency, recorded explosions near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on 25 January, the agency’s statement says.
“Yesterday [25 January], eight strong detonations were heard at around 10am local time, causing office windows at the plant to vibrate, and more were audible today,” reads the statement.
Ukraine informed the IAEA that its NPPs reduced their power output as a result of shelling of the country’s energy infrastructure.
IAEA’s Director General Grossi said these signs of combat activities near the Zaporizhzhia NPP further underlined the vital importance of agreeing and implementing a Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone around the site as soon as possible.
Rosenergoatom, Russia’s NPP operator, has called IAEA’s reports on explosions near the station “a provocation”. “On the one hand, they are trying to show everyone they are doing something useful, on the other, they are trying to manipulate the public opinion in the West, making people think that Russia is not capable of ensuring nuclear safety,” says Renat Karchaa, the advisor to Rosenergoatom’s Director General.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP has suffered numerous attacks since the start of the Ukraine War, both sides blaming each other for those. IAEA’s experts reported in late November that a non-nuclear leak occurred at the station when storage reservoirs were damaged.
