Over the past two weeks, IAEA staff have recorded a deterioration in the cooling system situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is occupied by Russian forces, with its reactors in a state of cold shutdown.
“The team noted increasing difficulties in ensuring a reliable supply of cooling water for the six reactors and their safety systems in cold shutdown, especially under the current hot weather conditions when evaporation rates are high,” said IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
According to him, the six ZNPP reactors have been in cold shutdown since spring 2024, but still require cooling water for their safety systems, reactor cores, and spent fuel pools.
Grossi also added that agency staff observed smoke and found burnt trees near the ZNPP cooling towers. Teams monitoring nuclear safety at Ukraine’s other operational NPPs—Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, and South Ukraine—as well as the Chernobyl site, reported hearing air raid alerts almost daily over the past week. At the Khmelnytskyi NPP, the team even had to shelter underground.
Ukraine’s Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk emphasized the irresponsibility of the Russian occupiers, who continue to create direct threats to nuclear safety. She noted that any provocations near the plant could lead to unpredictable and catastrophic consequences.
She stated that the very occurrence of such incidents proves the aggressor’s reckless policy.
“Russia repeatedly demonstrates that its actions pose a real threat to nuclear safety not only in Ukraine but across the entire European continent. Pressure on Russia must continue. Ukraine’s position remains unchanged: the only way to restore nuclear safety and stability in the region is the complete demilitarization of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and its return to full Ukrainian control,” said Svitlana Hrynchuk.
