IAEA: Ukraine's Zaporizhia plant "certainly" despite Moscow's acquisition

The Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, announced Thursday that the largest nuclear plant in Europe, Zaporizhia, is "certainly" Ukrainian, despite Moscow's official acquisition of it, repeating the warning of the risk of a nuclear accident.

"For us, it certainly belongs to (Ukrainian operating company) Energoatum as long as it is a Ukrainian facility," Grossi said at a press conference in Kyiv after being received by President Volodymyr Zelensky and before heading to Moscow.

"We continue to say what should be done, that is, to avoid a nuclear accident at the plant, which remains a very clear possibility," he added, denouncing the "unsustainable conditions" under which the Ukrainian crew worked at the plant.

On Wednesday, Russia officially announced the acquisition of the station, which it has controlled militarily since the beginning of March, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin.

The station is located in the Zaporizhia region, one of the Ukrainian regions that Russia announced its annexation last week, not far from the line of contact between the territories controlled by Kyiv and those controlled by Moscow.

"We are an international organization that operates under international law, and as you know, annexations are not acceptable under international law," Grossi added, explaining that he was concerned with the "operational repercussions" of the annexation process.

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