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Added on the 12/08/2022 09:07:51 - Copyright : Euronews EN
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi tells the Security Council that the agency must be allowed to inspect Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, saying that fighting near the site has sparked a "grave" crisis. SOUNDBITE
Images of Rafael Grossi, head of the UN Atomic Agency (IAEA), arriving at the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia power plant on a trip organised by the Russian army. Grossi is flanked by soldiers in combat clothing on what is his second visit to the site of Europe's largest nuclear power station, following one in September 2022. IAEA staff are also present, including three inspectors reporting to colleagues on site. IMAGES
The UN atomic watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi's convoy makes its way to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia power plant in a rare visit to Europe's largest nuclear facility, which is currently held by Moscow's forces. Grossi arrived at the plant, Ukrainian nuclear power operator Energoatom announced on social media, adding that it is "the second visit of the Head of the IAEA to the largest nuclear plant in Ukraine and Europe, since it was occupied by the Russians". IMAGES
UN chief Antonio Guterres asks that the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station not be cut off from Ukraine's grid, following Ukrainian reports that Moscow is planning to do so. "Obviously the electricity from Zaporizhzhia is Ukrainian electricity... This principle must be fully respected," the UN Secretary General says during a visit to the port of Odessa in southern Ukraine. SOUNDBITE
At a press conference in the western city of Lviv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says that any damage to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, would be "suicide", adding that the area "needs to be demilitarised"/ SOUNDBITE
UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, arrives at Ukraine's Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic plant to assess the situation after a dam near the plant was damaged earlier this month. IMAGES