IAEA Seeks To Prevent Suffering From Conflict On Top Of Possible Nuclear Accident - Grossi

VIENNA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th June, 2023) International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi told Sputnik that his agency is doing its best to put a stop to the suffering resulting from the Ukrainian conflict in addition to preventing a nuclear disaster.

"So, what we are trying to do is to prevent that (tragedy resulting from conflict). On top of this, you have a major nuclear accident with big radiological consequences, because this is our mandate. We would like to do more, if we could," Grossi said.

Wars and conflicts, whatever their motives or justifications, inevitably bring suffering, death and grief, and the IAEA is doing everything it can within its scope to ensure that the consequences of the Ukraine conflict do not become even worse, he added.

According to its Article II IAEA Statute, the IAEA mission is to expand the contributions of atomic energy to peace and prosperity.

Grossi previously stated in one of his speeches that the disaster in Fukushima could have been blamed on the weather. The world could also blame mechanics for the tragedy at Chernobyl. But in the case of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), there is no such scapegoat to blame in the event of a nuclear accident.

The ZNPP, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, uses water from the Kakhovka reservoir for cooling purposes. The Kakhovka dam suffered heavy damage in an attack on Tuesday morning, causing an uncontrollable outflow of water to towns downstream. The IAEA said on Tuesday that there is no "short-term risk" to nuclear safety and security.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said Ukrainian armed forces attacked the dam, qualifying it as a "terrorist act" against civilian infrastructure launched as part of Ukraine's "so-called" counteroffensive. Kiev, in turn, blamed Moscow for the attack.