Europe 1 with AFP 13:15 p.m., March 29, 2023, modified at 13:17 p.m., March 29, 2023

On the 399th day of the Russian invasion, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi arrived Wednesday at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces and whose security is a source of concern for the international community.

This is his second visit to this nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the largest in Europe, occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the war in February 2022. His previous visit was in September, when the IAEA has had a team of experts on site.

Key takeaways:

  • The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian forces, is in a "precarious state", raising fears to the IAEA of a nuclear accident
  • "We are playing with fire," warns Rafael Grossi, the director of the IAEA visiting on Wednesday
  • On the diplomatic front, the Kremlin hammered Wednesday that the "hybrid war" between Russia and Westerners would last "a long time"

Fear of nuclear accident in Zaporizhzhia still present

Rafael Grossi has been consulting for several months with Kiev and Moscow to set up a protection zone around the site, regularly hit by strikes and victim of repeated power cuts, raising fears of a nuclear accident.

An adviser to the management of the Russian operator Rosenergoatom told the Russian news agency Tass on Wednesday that he did not expect a breakthrough in the talks. "We are far from under the illusion that Grossi's visit can radically change things," Kartchaa said, while calling for "dialogue to be maintained".

On Wednesday, Rafael Grossi "must see how the situation has evolved at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, talk with the nuclear engineers who operate it," said the Ukrainian operator, Energoatom, announcing the arrival of the official by broadcasting a video of a column of vehicles arriving on site.

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"Playing with fire"

Ukraine believes that only a Russian withdrawal from the plant would guarantee nuclear safety. As for Russia, which refuses any retreat from a territory whose annexation it claims, it accuses Kiev of wanting to retake the site by force, in defiance of the risk of disaster.

On 22 March, Rafael Grossi had warned that the plant was in a "precarious state" because, according to the IAEA, the "last emergency power line", damaged since 1 March, remains "disconnected and under repair". However, it ultimately ensures nuclear safety and security, in particular by cooling reactors.

The plant depends on electricity supplied by a single 750 kV main external line, and "any damage (to this line) will result in the total loss of all offsite power to the plant," according to the IAEA.

On March 9, the gigantic power plant was cut off from the Ukrainian power grid for 11 hours after a Russian strike. Emergency diesel generators had been switched on to ensure minimal power to the safety systems. "We are playing with fire," warned Rafael Grossi.

A threat to "the entire European continent" according to Borrell

The head of European Union diplomacy Josep Borrell accused Russia of "endangering the security of the entire European continent". Electricity is essential to run the pumps that circulate water to cool the fuel and avoid an accident like the one in Fukushima, Japan, after the tsunami of March 2011.

Rafael Grossi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had visited together on Monday a hydroelectric station, responsible for supplying the nuclear power plant. Russia claims the annexation of the Zaporizhzhia region, where the plant is located, and occupies part of it. For several days, it has accused Ukraine of multiplying strikes and attacks.

On Wednesday, Russian authorities reported shelling in Melitopol, the regional capital of the occupation. According to her, a locomotive depot was hit, without causing any casualties. They also reported power cuts.

War for "a long time"

The strikes were reportedly carried out using Himars, a high-precision US mobile rocket launcher system, while the city is located more than 65 kilometers from the front. For several weeks, speculation has been rife about a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive towards Melitopol, because its capture would cut the land corridor conquered by Russia to connect its territory to Crimea, a peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.

In order to inflict further defeats on Russia, however, Ukraine is demanding longer-range munitions than the 80 km it had so far for the Himars, in order to be able to destroy Russian supply routes.

The United States has promised ammunition that can fly 150 km and, according to Moscow, these have already been delivered. Kiev has not confirmed and says it needs much more Western weapons. On the diplomatic front, the Kremlin hammered Wednesday that the "hybrid war" between Russia and the West would last "a long time", Moscow accusing Americans and Europeans of using Ukraine in a proxy conflict.

Russian diplomacy has also revived its rhetoric of threats against Sweden and Finland, candidates for NATO membership, with the Russian ambassador in Stockholm, Viktor Tatarintsev, saying that these countries would become "legitimate targets". Sweden announced on Wednesday the summons of the person concerned.