KYIV, Ukraine -- The International Atomic Energy Agency is placing teams of experts at all four of Ukraine's nuclear power plants to reduce the risk of severe accidents as Russia's war against the country rages on, agency head Rafael Grossi said Wednesday.
The agency, which is affiliated with the United Nations, already has a permanent presence at Ukraine's -- and Europe's -- largest nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia that is held by Russian forces.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's permanent presence at all of Ukraine's nuclear facilities, with at least 11 staff in total, marks an unprecedented expansion for the agency. Agency technicians will also be at Chernobyl, the now-closed nuclear plant that was the site of a deadly nuclear accident in 1986 that spread fallout over much of Europe.
"From [today], there will be two flags at all of the nuclear facilities in Ukraine; one of Ukraine and the second of the international nuclear agency," Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a joint news conference with Grossi at the government headquarters in Kyiv on Wednesday.
Grossi's pledge of the energy agency's support to Ukraine comes as the country reels from a weekend Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern city of Dnipro, which killed 45 civilians, and a helicopter crash Wednesday at a kindergarten in the Kyiv area, which killed the country's interior minister and about a dozen others.
Grossi arrived in Ukraine this week to raise the International Atomic Energy Agency flag and install staff at each nuclear facility, visiting Chernobyl on Wednesday and Rivne Tuesday. Staff will remain at the facility for "as long as they are requested" by the Ukrainian government, he said.
The agency's flags flying in Ukraine are "not just symbolic" said Grossi. "They reflect and they will signify the presence of some of the best-renowned experts in safety and security who will provide advice and technical support during this very difficult time to each facility facing different challenges and problems depending on the situation."
Shmyhal also said he requested that the agency impose sanctions on Russia's Atomic Agency, deprive Moscow of rights and privileges within the agency and halt any form of nuclear cooperation with the country. Grossi said that decision would fall on member states to discuss.
The International Atomic Energy Agency experts will deepen the technical expertise at each plant to prevent nuclear accidents as Russia's war, now in its 11th month, continues, and to monitor nuclear safety and security systems. Grossi said the missions are being installed at the request of the Ukrainian government.
The Ukrainians made the plea because "quite simply there are attacks on (the facilities)," the prime minister said. "We want to avoid any nuclear accidents, therefore we turned to the IAEA for security and protection."
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located on the front line of ongoing battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces. Russian forces captured the facility in March, and it has repeatedly come under fire since. All six reactors there are now shut down, though the plant is still connected to the electricity grid for safety reasons.
Grossi is pressing to establish a nuclear safety and security protection zone around Zaporizhzhia, where the agency has been present for more than four months.
"I remain determined to make the much-needed protection zone a reality as soon as possible. My consultations with Ukraine and Russia are making progress, albeit not as fast as they should," Grossi said in an earlier statement on Tuesday. At the news conference he said the agency was still in consultation with the Ukrainian government about establishing the zone. "We are closer to a good outcome," he said.
In this photo provided by the IAEA Press Office, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi, right, visits the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near Chernobyl, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. (IAEA Press Office via AP)