The head of the UN nuclear agency, Rafael Grossi, said that the cooling tower at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was heavily damaged by a fire last month. According to him, the building may have to be demolished. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
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Grossi made this statement during his regular visit to Zaporizhzhia NPP. He posted a video on social network X, where he assesses the extent of the damage while inside the cooling tower.
"Until today, we couldn't get to this point, high up in the tower, so we can assess the damage much better. This large structure is unusable in the future, so it will probably be demolished at some point," Grossi said.
The video also shows Grossi inspecting a pumping station to provide water, which is in short supply after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine last year. He also visited a nuclear fuel storage facility.
During his visit, Grossi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. He noted that the situation in Zaporizhzhia, where IAEA inspectors have been working since mid-2022, remains "very fragile.
IAEA Head Grossi visits Zaporizhzhya NPP: what is known04.09.24, 22:10