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Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant at risk of disaster, says top nuclear watchdog

January 11, 2023
GZERO Staff
How Close Did We Get to Another Chernobyl-Style Disaster in Ukraine? | GZERO World

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Weeks ago, the head of the top global nuclear watchdog visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. He saw two big holes on the roof caused by high-caliber ammo that could have impacted the fuel.

On GZERO World, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi gives Ian Bremmer a first-hand account of the precarious situation there — and how close we came to "dramatic" consequences.

For Grossi, a major problem right now is that both the Russians and the Ukrainians consider the facility as part of the battlefield. He doesn't care who's doing the shelling now, whether it's Russians or Ukrainians, because his mission is to prevent disasters.

Although neither Moscow nor Kyiv have agreed to his safe zone, Grossi thinks he's getting through to Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

They don't have to listen to each other, he clarifies, as long as they listen to him on protecting Zaporizhzhia.

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