UN nuclear chief 'very concerned' over Ukraine nuclear power plant

Kyiv says Russia blew up the dam in southern Ukraine last week, leading to catastrophic flooding and forcing thousands of people from their homes.

A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, August 4, 2022. (photo credit: REUTERS/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO)
A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, August 4, 2022.
(photo credit: REUTERS/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO)

United Nations nuclear chief Rafael Grossi said during a trip to Kyiv on Tuesday that he was "very concerned" Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could get caught up in Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russian forces.

At a briefing in Kyiv, Grossi said he would head to the nuclear plant to assess the situation and that he planned to spend a few hours there. Grossi was due in Kyiv on Tuesday on a trip to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and visit Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after a huge river dam nearby was destroyed last week.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Sunday it needed access to a site near the plant to check water levels after the reservoir lost a large portion of its volume of water because of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam downstream.

Kyiv says Russia blew up the dam in southern Ukraine last week, leading to catastrophic flooding and forcing thousands of people from their homes.

Russia says Ukraine was responsible for the destruction

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant uses a cooling pond to keep its six reactors cool. Ukraine's nuclear energy company said on Tuesday that the level of the pond was stable and that the water was high enough.

 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi walks at Vienna International Airport before departing for Ukraine, in Vienna, Austria June 12, 2023 (credit: DEAN CALMA/IAEA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi walks at Vienna International Airport before departing for Ukraine, in Vienna, Austria June 12, 2023 (credit: DEAN CALMA/IAEA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

As of Tuesday morning, the water level stood at 16.67 meters (54.69 feet), which Energoatom said was "quite enough to meet the needs of the station".

The Kakhovka reservoir is normally used to refill the pond, but cannot now because of its falling water level, Ukrainian nuclear authorities say.

Instead, the pond, which is separated from the reservoir, can be replenished using deep underground wells, they say.

The water in the pond is also expended very slowly, they add, because the reactors are not producing power and water does not evaporate quickly during the cooling process.

Both the Kakhovka hydropower dam and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have been occupied by Russia since the early days of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.