Head of UN nuclear agency to visit Ukraine plant

The head of the IAEA, the United Nations nuclear energy watchdog, Rafael Grossi, announced on Thursday (8.jun.2032) that he will visit the installations of the Zaporizhzhia plant, in Ukraine, next week. According to the UN agency (United Nations), the rupture of the Nova Kakhovka dam increased the risk of a nuclear accident.

Grossi explained that the possible loss of the plant’s main source of cooling water leaves the situation “extremely difficult and challenging”.

The latest information from the IAEA indicates that the water level in the reservoir has dropped by around 2.8 meters since the dam was breached, reaching 14.03 meters. According to the agency, if the level drops below 12.7 meters, the Zaporizhzhia plant will no longer be able to pump water.

Unicef ​​estimates that the dam failure on Tuesday (June 6) left at least 40 towns flooded in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. Around 16,000 people were affected in areas controlled by the Ukrainian government. On the east bank of the river and in areas not controlled by the government, that number rises to 25,000.

Read more about the dam failure in Ukraine:

UNDERSTAND

A dam at the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric plant, in southern Ukraine, was the target of an explosion in the early hours of Tuesday (June 6). Kiev and Moscow blame each other for the incident – ​​the region has territories controlled by Russia.

The dam is located in the Kherson region and controls the flow of water to dozens of settlements. It also serves as the source for a crucial canal that brings water to parts of Crimea.

In November 2022, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that any attempt by Russian forces to blow up the New Kakhovka hydroelectric plant, flooding Ukrainian territory and compromising the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, would mean that Russia is “declaring war on the whole world”.

On Tuesday (6.jun), the Ukrainian described the dam rupture as “an environmental bomb of mass destruction”. He also said that his country had contacted representatives of the ICC (International Criminal Court) in The Hague, “to involve international justice in the investigation of the destruction of the dam”.