UN nuclear chief says large Ukraine atomic power plant held by Russia faces 'dangerous situation'

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The largest nuclear power plant in Europe faces “a relatively dangerous situation” after a dam burst in Ukraine and Kyiv launches a counteroffensive to retake ground occupied by Russia, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Tuesday.

Rafael Moreno Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke to journalists in Kyiv just before leaving on a trip to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. That plant has been repeatedly in the crossfire since Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022 and seized the facility shortly after.

Grossi said he had met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the situation affecting the plant, which grew more serious after the Kakhovka Dam burst last week. The dam, further down the Dnieper River, helped keep water in a reservoir that cools the plant's reactors. Ukraine has said Russia blew up the dam, something denied by Moscow, though analysts say the flood likely disrupted Kyiv's counteroffensive plans.

Grossi said the level of the reservoir that feeds the plant is dropping “quite steadily” but that it didn’t represent an “immediate danger.”