The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog plans to visit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine to assess safety and security this week amid reports of a possible Ukrainian offensive in the south of the country, which could cause an escalation of fighting in the area.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, has issued a series of dire warnings about security at the plant, denouncing international complacency and saying that one day luck will run out when it comes to maintaining safety there, given that shelling has already damaged buildings at the plant and cut external power.
He continued to issue warnings over the weekend about the threats of allowing fighting anywhere near a nuclear plant, saying in a statement: “The nuclear safety and security dangers are all too obvious, as is the necessity to act now to prevent an accident with potential radiological consequences to the health and the environment for people in Ukraine and beyond.”
The facility, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, was seized by Russian troops more than a year ago and is now managed by Russia’s state nuclear company, Rosatom, though many of its operatives and engineers are Ukrainian. All six of its reactors have been shut down, though it requires power to maintain safety.
An I.A.E.A. proposal to turn the plant into a demilitarized zone has not borne fruit. Ukrainian officials have said Moscow has rejected the plan on the grounds that it would mean pulling its forces out of the facility, control of which has given them considerable leverage over Ukrainian energy production.
Mr. Grossi last visited the plant in September, when he brought the first group of international nuclear inspectors to the plant. Inspectors have been there since then.
The plant, which lies on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, is close to the front lines in the conflict. Russian forces control the east bank in the region and have frequently shelled the city of Nikopol and other targets on the western side of the river. Ukraine controls the northern part of the Zaporizhzhia region while Russian forces hold the southern part.
In an indication of the frontline tensions, Ukraine’s general staff reported on Monday that Russia had shelled 30 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region in the previous 24 hours, including Chervone and Charivne.
Ukraine’s military leaders have said little about what is expected to be an offensive this spring, during which they will likely make use of tanks and other forms of military aid from the United States and other allies. In the latest example of that support, Britain’s ministry of defense on Monday said that Ukrainian crews have returned home after completing training on how to operate Challenger 2 tanks. Britain has donated 14 of the tanks to Ukraine, though they are not yet with Ukrainian forces.
Military analysts cite two possible directions for the counteroffensive, one in the east of the country in the Donbas region and the other in the south. Ukrainian officials have said that a southern offensive would aim to advance on the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region. Some military analysts say that could also involve ferrying troops across the Dnipro River southwest of the power plant.
Local Ukrainian officials have reported sporadic explosions around Melitopol for months in apparent attacks on Russian forces. There were two more blasts on Monday, the city’s exiled mayor, Ivan Fedorov, said on the Telegram messaging app.
