On Wednesday, the leader of the organization responsible for monitoring nuclear power for the United Nations stated that his team was not allowed to enter certain areas of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which is under Russian control. Additionally, they have not received the maintenance plans for 2024 for the facility.

Russia took control of the Zaporizhzhia plant shortly after their 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Both sides have accused each other of bombarding the area surrounding the station, which is the largest in Europe. However, the six reactors at the station are currently not generating any electricity.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general, Rafael Grossi, stated that for a period of two weeks, inspectors were unable to access the primary halls of reactors one, two, and six at the plant.

In a statement on the IAEA website, Grossi stated that it was the first instance in which IAEA experts were not permitted to enter a reactor hall of a unit that was in cold shutdown.

“The location of the reactor core and spent fuel is here. The team will persist in requesting access to this area.”

He reported that inspectors had limitations on entering the turbine halls at the power plant located in southeastern Ukraine.

According to Grossi, the operators of the plant have implemented measures to guarantee backup electricity in case the main external power line fails. He referred to this as a recurring issue.

The loss of its primary source of power has raised concerns, as the plant requires electricity to cool its reactors even when they are not in use. There have been challenges in relying on the backup power supply.

According to Grossi, the IAEA requested a maintenance plan for the plant in 2024, but it has not yet been given.

The head of the IAEA has made three trips to the facility since the attack, which was a difficult task due to having to navigate through the front lines of a 22-month-long conflict.

Grossi has consistently urged for a cessation of hostilities near the establishment in order to prevent any disastrous incidents.

He asserted that the IAEA employees have witnessed the maintenance of safety protocols at the three operational nuclear power plants in Ukraine. However, there have been instances where missiles and drones have flown near two of them, namely Khmelnitskyi in the west and the South Ukraine plant.