Russians have again planted mines in the buffer zone of the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Vienna, Austria (Svidomi) — A new IAEA report on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which has been occupied since March 2022 and is located in the city of Enerhodar, states that Russians have again installed mines in the buffer zone of the facility. 

These mines were removed in November 2023, but during the last inspection, experts again noticed them between the inner and outer fences of the plant. This is a restricted area inaccessible to plant personnel.

This week, the plant faced several hours of backup power outages, which was another incident that increased nuclear safety risks.

The IAEA team continued to inspect Zaporizhzhia NPP, including all six main control rooms, where the experts were able to observe the number of personnel but could not ask questions about their qualifications and experience.

Zaporizhzhia NPP has been occupied by the Russians since early March 2023. In September 2023, the IAEA approved a resolution on the immediate return of the Zaporizhzhia NPP to the full control of Ukraine. A month later, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said that the DIU's special forces had made three attempts to de-occupy Zaporizhzhia NPP, but all attempts failed. The first attempt took place in August 2022. The dates of the other two remain uncertain.