Ukraine: UN watchdog to monitor occupied nuclear plants online

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will monitor the two occupied nuclear power plants in Ukraine online, Ukrainian state energy company Energoatom reported. The Russian army is in control of the Zaporizhzhya and Chernobyl power stations.

The head of Energoatom believes the UN watchdog should use its influence to ensure that Russian officials do not interfere with the two plants. He also said he would not be able to share all the results of his meeting with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Wednesday.

The IAEA said on Wednesday it was still not receiving data from its Chernobyl monitoring systems, but was receiving information from Ukraine’s other nuclear power plants.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where a nuclear disaster occurred in 1986, was taken by Russian troops on the first day of the war. No electricity has been generated at this location for years, but radioactive waste is still stored. The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, was captured in early March. During the fighting, a training complex caught fire.