Go to the mediabank Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi. File photoMOSCOW, Oct 1Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi may visit Moscow and Kyiv next week as part of efforts to create a nuclear safety and security zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the agency said in a statement. Earlier, Grossi said that the protective zone around the ZNPP should be established as a result of an agreement between Ukraine and Russia.» Director General Grossi continues his consultations and (makes — ed.) other efforts aimed at the speedy agreement and establishment of a nuclear safety and protection zone around the ZNPP. He is expected to visit Kyiv next week and Moscow,» the statement on the official website of the IAEA reads. The Zaporozhye NPP is located on the left bank of the Dnieper near the city of Energodar. This is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in terms of the number of units and installed capacity — the plant has six power units with a capacity of 1 gigawatt each. Since March, it has been under the protection of the Russian military. The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that this step was justified in order to avoid leakage of nuclear and radioactive materials. The Ukrainian military continues to regularly shell Energodar and the territory of the Zaporizhzhya NPP adjacent to the city. In early September, an IAEA mission led by Grossi arrived at the ZNPP. The head of the delegation of «Rosatom» and employees of the Zaporizhzhya NPP led the delegation of the IAEA through its territory and showed the sections of the station that were damaged during the shelling of Ukrainian troops. Two IAEA employees remained at ZNPP on a permanent basis. As a result of the mission's visit, the IAEA published a report confirming the shelling of Zaporozhye NPP. On Friday, the agency reported another mine explosion near the Zaporizhzhya NPP, which damaged a low-voltage electric cable outside the plant's perimeter. However, the nuclear safety of the facility was out of danger.
