The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not detected any signs that Russia is preparing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant for a return to operation. This was announced by the agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi following another briefing where the status of the occupied facility was discussed, reports Baltimore Chronicle, citing Reuters.
IAEA representatives who are permanently stationed at the plant confirmed the absence of any active technical or organizational efforts that would indicate an intent to restart the facility. According to Grossi, personnel from the Russian company Rosatom are present at the site, but their role is limited to maintaining the plant in a stable shutdown state.
At present, all reactors of the Zaporizhzhia NPP remain in cold shutdown. IAEA experts reported that this week a rotation of agency staff working at the site was successfully carried out. They were also granted access to certain internal areas of the power units, although comprehensive inspection of all systems remains impossible due to restrictions imposed by the occupying administration.
The IAEA report emphasizes that the situation at the plant remains extremely unstable in terms of safety, which continues to raise concerns. The long-term intentions of the Russian Federation regarding the Zaporizhzhia NPP remain unclear, but for now, there are no direct indications of preparations for its restart.
Earlier we wrote that Russia builds infrastructure to connect ZNPP to its power grid.