International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have gained access to the rooftops of two reactors of concern at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and found no mines or explosives, the agency said Aug. 4.
Inspectors had asked for access to the roof area of reactors three and four repeatedly but were denied entry to inspect for explosives by occupying Russian forces until Friday.
From that vantage, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) personnel were able to visually inspect the turbine halls at the nuclear plant and found no explosives, according to IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. The team will continue its requests to visit the roofs of the other 4 units at the plant, Grossi said.
“I welcome the news that IAEA experts have finally been granted this additional access at the site. Timely, independent and objective reporting of facts on the ground is crucial to continue the IAEA’s efforts to support nuclear safety and security during the military conflict in the country,” Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.
Since Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine 15 months ago, the IAEA and the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration have supported Ukrainian efforts to prevent a nuclear accident at the plant. Artillery dueling and other combat operations near the plant have threatened the plant’s external power supply multiple times, which it requires to continue cooling its nuclear reactors.
