Ukrainian president, IAEA chief discuss mission to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (4th L) meets with visiting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi and representatives of the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) in Kiev, Ukraine, Aug. 30, 2022. (Ukrainian Presidential Office/Handout via Xinhua)

KIEV, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday met with visiting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi to discuss the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP), the presidential press service reported.

At the talks, Zelensky and Grossi stressed the importance of sending the IAEA mission to the plant, noting that any incident at the facility would have global consequences.

Zelensky spoke highly of the IAEA visit to Ukraine, adding that the situation around the nuclear power plant is escalating.

"There are risks of incidents at the plant, failure of nuclear reactors, disconnection of Zaporizhzhia NPP units from our network," Zelensky said.

Zelensky voiced his belief that the IAEA mission to the facility led by Grossi would find ways to prevent security threats.

The Zaporizhzhia NPP is one of Europe's largest nuclear power plants. It has been controlled by Russian forces since early March, but its Ukrainian staff has continued to operate it. In recent weeks, Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations of strikes on the facility.

The IAEA mission to the plant is set to assess the plant's physical damage, determine its safety and security systems' functionality, evaluate staff conditions, and perform urgent safeguarding activities.