Important for operations

Ukrainians locked out of Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

Around 100 Ukrainian employees have refused to sign contracts with the Russian nuclear company Rosatom at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is occupied by Russian troops. The occupying forces are now denying them access to the nuclear power plant as a result.

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, intends to examine the effects of this on the operation of the power plant during his visit to the facility on Wednesday. The six reactors at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant are currently shut down, but the fuel rods still need to be cooled. The Russian troops are dependent on the cooperation of the Ukrainian employees.

Repeated use of the emergency generators
The nuclear power plant, which Russia occupied shortly after its invasion of Ukraine, has been repeatedly shelled since then. The governments in Kiev and Moscow accused each other of the attacks. Before Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, Europe's largest nuclear power plant supplied around a fifth of Ukraine's electricity and had to be operated several times with emergency generators.

Russia admits laying mines
After IAEA inspectors discovered mines on the site of the nuclear power plant last year, Russia has now officially admitted to laying mines. The anti-personnel mines, which are located between the inner and outer perimeter fences, "pose no threat to the power plant staff and IAEA experts at the facility", the Russian representation to the international organizations in Vienna declared at the weekend.

Laying mines "to protect the site of a nuclear power plant" is an "acceptable practice" that does not contradict the IAEA's recommendations. This method can also be used if the plant is not located in a conflict zone, it concluded. However, the head of the IAEA, which has its headquarters in Vienna, explained last summer that such explosives do indeed contradict IAEA safety standards.