Head Of The UN Nuclear Agency Meets With President Vladimir Putin To Discuss Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

JAKARTA - Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, discussing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Russia's occupied Ukraine.

The Kremlin published President Putin and Grossi's introductory address at a meeting in Sochi, southern Russia, but gave no details of their closed-door meeting.

President Putin told Grossi he was ready to discuss "very sensitive and important issues on the agenda and doing everything to ensure security wherever we are in one or another involved in nuclear energy," the Kremlin said.

Apart from President Putin and Head of IAEA Grossi, the meeting was also attended by leader of nuclear power company Rosatom Alexei Likachev.

Russian troops seized Europe's largest nuclear power plant in their invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and occupied it since then.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located near the front line in the southern part of Ukraine which Moscow claims has been annexed. The six reactors were turned off, but the reactor needed constant electricity and water supply, keeping the reactor cool and preventing potential catastrophic destruction.

The PLTN was damaged by the fire when it was taken over in March 2022. Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian forces continued to clash nearby, accusing each other of shooting around the station. The IAEA has tried to prepare a safety mechanism to prevent accidents.

Previously, Grossi held talks with Rosatom, where safety in Zaporizhia was the main focus, RIA news agency said, citing Rosatom. He also discussed with the Ministry of Defense and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

PLTN Zaporizhia lost connections to entire external power lines eight times in the past 18 months, forcing it to rely on diesel generators for essential functions such as cooling fuel in its reactor.

Although one of the main power lines is still functioning, the IAEA says the situation at the power plant is still in critical condition.

One of the six power generation reactors, according to the IAEA, needs to be maintained in a hot dead mode to produce the vapor needed for nuclear safety, including liquid radioactive waste treatment in storage tanks.

Last year Ukraine said it was worried the PLTN would face the water shortage needed to keep it cool after a giant dam was blown up in the river, thus lowering the surface of the reservoir nearby.

Grossi last month checked the cooling well to determine if there was enough water to cool down, welcoming a reduction in shootings around the plant. Russian news agency TASS reported that Grossi concluded the water supply was sufficient.