Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow warns US of ‘fatal consequences’; 1,300 Russian casualties in 24 hours, Ukraine claims | World News

 It will be unsafe to restart
the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine as
long as war rages around it, the UN nuclear watchdog chief has said.

Rafael Grossi held a meeting with Russia on the issue last week
after officials including Vladimir Putin told him
Moscow wanted to restart Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant.

The six reactors are shut down on safety grounds at the recommendation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). 

“The idea, of course, they have is to restart at some point,” Mr Grossi told a news conference on the first day of a quarterly meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation board of governors. 

“They are not planning to decommission this nuclear power plant.
So this is what prompts the need to have a discussion about
that.”

Russia said after last week’s meeting that it was not currently
planning to reactivate the plant. 

Mr Grossi said some important
steps needed to be taken before it can restart safely. 

“In terms of what needs to happen… there shouldn’t be
any bombing or any activity of this type,” he said. 

“Then there should be a more stable assurance of external
power supply. 

“This requires repairs, important repairs of
existing lines, which at the moment, and because of the military
activity, are very difficult to envisage.”