ENERGODAR: The chief of the UN atomic watchdog said on Wednesday that he was working on a compromise security plan for the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and warned of increased military activity around it.

There are persistent fears over the safety of the plant in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, where there has been frequent shelling since Russian troops invaded last year.

During a rare visit to Europe’s largest nuclear plant currently controlled by Russian forces, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi said he was working to find a compromise that would suit both Moscow and Kyiv.

“I am trying to prepare and propose realistic measures that will be approved by all parties,” Grossi told reporters during a press tour organised by Moscow. “We must avoid catastrophe. I am an optimist and I believe that this is possible,” said Grossi, who arrived at the plant in a Russian armoured vehicle, surrounded by soldiers in full combat gear. But he also warned of “increasing” military activity around the nuclear plant and hoped Russia and Ukraine would agree on safety principles.

He added that the visit to the plant was “extremely useful.” “The idea is to agree on certain principles, certain commitments, including not to attack the plant,” he said.

Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of shelling the plant, increasing fears of a disaster. The United Nations has called for a demilitarised zone around the site.

’Anything can happen’

Grossi said his team had previously focused on the possibility of establishing a security zone “around the plant.” “Now the concept is evolving,” he said, with his team focusing on the protection of the plant itself rather than “on territorial aspects which pose certain problems.” During the visit Grossi took a guided tour through the huge facility, which had been fortified. He was followed by around 30 journalists. The Moscow-installed director of the plant, Yury Chernichuk, showed Grossi damage the plant sustained during the hostilities.

The Ukrainian nuclear power operator Energoatom earlier in the day distributed footage of a convoy of civilian and military vehicles marked with the letter Z, a symbol emblazoned on Russian military hardware in Ukraine.

This was Grossi’s second visit to Zaporizhzhia since Russia invaded Ukraine last February. The agency has had a team of experts inside the plant since September 2022, but Grossi has said the situation “is still precarious”.

Earlier this week, Grossi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said it was not possible to restore safety at the plant with Russia in control.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2023