Ukrain

He described the incident as very worrying and emphasizing the continuous risks of nuclear safety during the military conflict.

Grusi said in a statement that the agency team stationed on the site heard the explosion at 01:50 am local time, followed by smoke and fire that was visible to the team members from the windows of their bedrooms. He explained that Ukraine informed the team that a drone plane hit the new safe barrier, a large structure that was built to prevent any radioactive launch from the damaged reactor unit and protect it from any external danger.

Grusi said that the firefighting individuals and vehicles arrived at the scene within minutes to extinguish the fire, which could still be seen intermittently for several hours after that.

Violated the outer layer of the safe barrier

The International Atomic Energy Agency team saw a violation of the outer layer of the new safe barrier resulted from the bombing. The supplementary information received by the Ukrainian authorities concerned this morning confirmed that the external cladding of the nuclear energy center was damaged, and that investigations are underway to determine the state of the internal cladding.

The director of the Atomic Energy Agency said that the agency team was informed that the levels of radiation inside and outside the nuclear energy center building are still normal and stable. There were no reports of injuries.

General Manager Grusi said that the attack by the drone plane showed that the nuclear safety remains at a constant threat as long as the conflict continues, especially since it comes shortly after the recent increase in military activity near the Zaburujia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

He went on, saying: “There is no room for negligence. The International Atomic Energy Agency is at a maximum alert. I again call for the utmost military restraint on nuclear sites in Ukraine.”

He said that the International Agency will provide more updates about the situation in Chernobyl when relevant information is available.

After canceling the planned rotation this week for the International Atomic Energy Agency employees stationed at the Zaburujia Nuclear Energy Station, Grusi said he was in contact with the two sides to ensure the safe traffic of the agency’s teams as soon as possible.

He explained that the International Atomic Energy Agency has been at the Zaburujia station since September 2022 to monitor and evaluate nuclear safety and security and help prevent an accident.