ENSREG, the occupation of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is illegitimate. It is necessary that the NPP be immediately returned to its operator under the supervision of the Ukrainian National Safety Authority.

The unlawful occupation by the Russian Federation of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and the military actions taking place at the site are a threat to the safety of the plant and the risk of accidents will remain high until such an occupation ends.
This was declared by ENSREG, the Group of Nuclear Safety Authorities, during the fourth extraordinary meeting, which was attended by the president of the Working Group on radioactive waste management and decommissioning as well as coordinator of the ISIN Council, Stefano Laporta, and some representatives of the Inspectorate.
The initiative was organized to assess the nuclear safety situation in Ukraine and the implications, especially for the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, of the attempted annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions to the Russian Federation.
ENSREG members expressed deep concern about Russia's actions in and around the site and the consequent persistence of the precarious situation from the point of view of nuclear safety.
ENSREG therefore reiterated, in a statement, that Energoatom is the only legitimate entity authorized to operate the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant; the facility must operate under the conditions of the permit and in accordance with Ukrainian legal and regulatory requirements, under the supervision of SNRIU, the Ukrainian Nuclear Safety Regulatory Inspectorate, which must be able to freely carry out its regulatory functions.
During the extraordinary meeting, ENSREG stressed that the recent detention of the Director General of the plant, Ihor Murashov, later released by the Russian armed forces, has seriously put the security of the plant at risk.
Furthermore, from the Group of Nuclear Safety Authorities, the invitation to the Russian Federation not to place obstacles to the management and personnel of the plant in the exercise of their functions, to the restoration of regular work shifts and to the continuity of supplies and parts of replacement.
ENSREG strongly supports the efforts of the IAEA Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, on nuclear safety, security and safeguards in Ukraine and calls for the Agency's presence at the Zaporizhzhya site to be strengthened as soon as the security situation in loco will allow it.
The hope is that there will soon be the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, and the return of the plant to Ukraine. 

The link to the ENSREG statement: https://www.ensreg.eu/news/ensreg-statement-ukraine-4-october-2022