No immediate nuclear safety risk at Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant after dam damage: IAEA

By Ebru Sengul Cevrioglu

ANKARA (AA) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed Tuesday that there is "no immediate nuclear safety risk" at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant following damage to Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam.

In a statement on Twitter, the agency said, "the IAEA is aware of reports of damage at Ukraine's Kakhovka dam; IAEA experts at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant are closely monitoring the situation; no immediate nuclear safety risk at plant."

Explosions at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant near Kherson in southern Ukraine unleashed floodwaters on Tuesday, with both Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of destroying the dam.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Twitter the destruction of the dam "confirms for the whole world that they (Russian forces) must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land."

"All services are working. I have convened the National Security and Defense Council," he said.

Separately, the head of the Russia-controlled city of Nova Kakhovka, located on the east bank of the Dnieper River, said on Telegram that overnight strikes by Ukraine's armed forces led to the destruction of valves, and thus the uncontrolled release of the water downstream.