The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has lost internal power eight times since the start of the conflict in Ukraine and has had to rely on backup generators, described by Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as "the last line of defence" against a reactor meltdown. Grossi's comments come as he visits Russia to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin on the situation at the site, which is in southern Ukraine but under the control of Moscow's forces.
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00:00 "All our efforts have been aimed at avoiding a nuclear accident at the plant.
00:06 I have regular contact with both sides, with Ukraine of course and with Russia.
00:11 I think it's high time.
00:12 I saw President Putin for the last time almost one year and a half ago.
00:16 So I think it's good to take stock where we are, to pass messages, the evaluation from
00:24 the IAEA and of course to listen to him.
00:27 It's very important to continue our dialogue with the Russian Federation and of course
00:32 talking to the President for me is indispensable since the situation with regards to the Saporodny
00:42 nuclear power plant has been at the centre of the international preoccupations, which
00:46 is not a surprise since this station is right on the front line of the conflict.
00:55 From the beginning of the war, the conflict, we've had eight times, at eight different
01:01 opportunities the plant was in complete blackout, which meant that the only source of energy
01:09 to cooling the plant was emergency generators that depend on the, of course, availability
01:18 of fuel.
01:19 So that is in our technical work the last line of defence.
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