IAEA chief plans to visit Zaporozhye NPP on Feb 7

PARIS. Feb 6 (Interfax) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi plans to visit the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant on Wednesday, the IAEA said on Tuesday.

"IAEA Director General briefed the media in Kiev this morning, ahead of his visit to Zaporozhye NPP tomorrow," the IAEA said in a statement on social media.

Grossi told reporters that he did not view the situation around the ZNPP as completely stable.

"So, if you add all the elements that I'm describing, you can see that there is absolutely no place for complacency, or to believe that everything has stabilized there. Far from that," he said in a video published by the IAEA on social media.

Talking about the upcoming talks with Russian officials, Grossi said his main goal was to obtain permission to check the current condition of the fuel in the plant's reactors.

As reported previously, Grossi is planning to visit the NPP soon, as he believes that he has to see for himself how the facility is operating. The Associated Press said earlier that after visiting the plant, Grossi plans to travel to Moscow for talks with Russian officials.

The Zaporozhye NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, operates six VVER-1000 power units. The plant has not produced electricity since September 11, 2022. The NPP's facilities have been transferred to Russian ownership, and the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant Federal State Unitary Enterprise was established. The operator is the Operating Organization of the Zaporozhye NPP, which was established by Rosenergoatom, part of Rosatom state corporation.

Several IAEA specialists are on duty at the Zaporozhye NPP in shifts. The last rotation of specialists took place on January 11 for the 15th time since September 1, 2022.