Sawt Falasteen - IAEA board meets over Ukraine nuclear safety concerns

Energy supplies to Ukraine's nuclear plants have been affected as Russia has pounded its neighbour's power sector since the start of its 2022 invasion, prompting fears of a nuclear disaster.

The war in Ukraine "continues to pose the world's biggest threat to nuclear safety", Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said when opening the board meeting.

The extraordinary meeting that lasted four hours was called after 13 countries led by the Netherlands expressed in a letter seen by AFP a "growing concern about the severity and urgency of nuclear safety risks" following a series of attacks.

Ukrainian ambassador Yurii Vitrenko told reporters before the meeting that it was "high time" for the IAEA board to discuss the situation.

A weeks-long IAEA expert mission to Ukrainian substations and power plants is under way and expected to wrap up next month, Vitrenko said.

The mission will assess 10 substations "crucial to nuclear safety", according to Grossi.

Russian Ambassador Mikhail Ulyanov dismissed the board's gathering as "absolutely politically motivated", adding there was "no real need to hold such a meeting today".

Last week, Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant temporarily lost all off-site power.

Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, occupied by Russian forces since March 2022, has also been repeatedly affected by fighting.

Earlier this month, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a localised ceasefire to allow repairs on the last remaining backup power line supplying Zaporizhzhia.

The line was damaged and disconnected as a result of military activity in early January.

The Zaporizhzhia plant's six reactors have been shut down since the occupation. But the site still needs electricity to maintain its cooling and security systems.

Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of risking a nuclear catastrophe by attacking the site.

R.Shaban--SF-PST