Russia says situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant under control

MOSCOW (AA) - Alexey Likhachev, head of the Russian nuclear energy operator Rosatom, said Wednesday that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is under control.

"Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant for the first time in the history of mankind was caught in a war zone. For our part, we took care of its safety to the utmost, did everything to avoid any possible nuclear incident," he said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV channel.

Likhachev added that Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), understands the level of threat at the plant.

"And in this sense, we support the idea of a safe zone around the station, formulating the principles quite precisely. What is a safe zone in our understanding? It is a place where not a single shell, not a single bullet hits, not a single sabotage group comes close to the station, and the safety of the personnel is ensured," Likhachev said.

The Russia-controlled power plant has been a hot-button issue as Moscow and Kyiv both blame each other over attacks on the facility, raising fears of a nuclear disaster.

In order to prevent such an incident, IAEA observers have been stationed at the plant since September.