IAEA experts at the six-unit facility reported to agency headquarters that shelling took place at around 17:00 local time on Monday near the facility’s electrical switchyard, a few hundred meters from the plant’s training centre, but there were no reports of damage. Other explosions were heard further away.
On Tuesday at 08:00, two explosions occurred near a channel that carries water from a reservoir to the plant for its cooling system, an essential element for nuclear safety. There was no damage to plant structures and equipment, but windows in the turbine hall of reactor Unit 2 were broken.
According to senior Zaporizhzhia operating staff, the cause of the blasts is currently unclear and is being investigated, the Agency experts added.
This week’s shelling and explosions at the ZNPP site come after a few days without any such incidents. The IAEA said they show that the overall situation remains precarious and that immediate action is needed to reduce the risk of a major accident at Europe’s largest nuclear power station
Grossi said earlier this week he received “strong support” during high-level meetings in New York for the urgent establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around Zaporizhzhia and had begun “detailed talks” with Ukraine and Russia on the subject.
