No release of radioactive material has been detected at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after a military projectile hit a nearby building on the site, UN atomic chief Rafael Grossi has said.
Two members of the security staff were injured when the projectile struck after the Ukrainian authorities reported an overnight battle with Russian troops near Europe’s biggest power plant.
In an update, Grossi, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, said the nuclear power plant continued to be operated by its regular staff.
The safety systems of the plant’s six reactors had not been affected and there has been no release of radioactive material. Radiation monitoring systems at the site are fully functional.
The situation “remains very challenging”, Grossi added, and it has not yet been possible to access the whole site to determine if all systems are fully functional.
I’m extremely concerned about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP and what happened there during the night.
Firing shells in the area of a nuclear power plant violates the fundamental principle that the physical integrity of nuclear facilities must be maintained and kept safe at all time.