Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Monday with UN atomic energy chief Rafael Mariano Grossi in southern Ukraine where they discussed the precarious situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The plant, which is Europe’s biggest, has lost several of its power transmission cables during Russia’s war, and on multiple occasions has had to switch to emergency diesel generators.
Grossi, who is director-general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, plans to visit the plant, which is held by Russian forces, this week. The agency has permanent staff stationed at the plant.
In the meeting, covered exclusively by The Associated Press, Grossi expressed his concern to Zelenskyy that the situation at the plant “isn’t getting any better.” He stressed that the situation at the plant remains tense because of the militarisation of the area around it and the recent blackout at the plant. It wasn’t the first time that has occurred since Russian forces last year took it over.
The two met in the the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is in Ukrainian-held territory, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) northeast of the nuclear plant with the same name. Elsewhere, two people were killed and 29 wounded Monday when Russian forces shelled the Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, in the partially occupied eastern Donetsk region, local officials said. Video footage of the aftermath showed damaged residential buildings, debris in the streets and vehicles on fire.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as “terrorism.” Russia has denied targeting residential areas even though artillery and rocket strikes have hit Ukrainian apartment buildings and civilian infrastructure daily during the war.