IAEA's Grossi says Zaporizhzhia attacks risk 'dangerous' shift in Ukraine war

Drone attacks on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine must stop as they could pose 'a new and gravely dangerous' stage in the war, the UN nuclear watchdog chief told his agency's 35-nation Board of Governors on Thursday.

Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused one another of targeting the plant since Russia seized it weeks after it invaded Ukraine.

Both countries requested an emergency meeting of the IAEA's Board soon after Sunday's attack.

"The most recent attacks have shifted us into an acutely consequential juncture in this war," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement to the Board gathering.

He called on the Board "unanimously to support the role of the IAEA in monitoring" principles aimed at preventing an accident at the plant, including that it not be attacked.

Since no draft resolutions have been submitted to the Board meeting, it is likely to boil down to an exchange of statements by the countries convening behind closed doors in Vienna.

"We are meeting today, and I will meet with the UN Security Council next week, because it is of paramount importance to ensure these reckless attacks do not mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front of the war," Grossi said, adding: "Strikes must cease."

Reuters