By Pavel Polityuk
KYIV (Reuters) -U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said he would visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russian-occupied Ukraine on Wednesday to see if it can be run with a reduced number of staff and whether its years-old uranium fuel is safe.
Russia gained control of Europe's largest nuclear power plant after launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, and its six nuclear reactors are now idled.
Ahead of his visit, Grossi discussed the current security situation and potential risks at the occupied plant on Tuesday in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the presidential office reported.
Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said the Russian occupation authorities were preventing hundreds of qualified workers from working at the plant, which he said dramatically reduces safety.
"We're talking about 400 people who are highly skilled and, most importantly, licensed. You can't just take them away," Galushchenko told a joint news conference with Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"There is the issue of the staff. The situation where the plant is operating with a very, very small number of operators," Grossi added.
Thousands of people work at the plant, but some of them refused to sign contracts with the Russian nuclear power firm, which was the formal reason for their non-admission.
"One of my main points of interest for my visit that starts tomorrow morning will be to inquire precisely about this. One of the most important things for me is to assess the operational impact of this decision," Grossi said.
Grossi, who described the technical condition of the plant as "very delicate", said another new problem was the situation with the nuclear fuel, which has been inside the reactors for years and is reaching the end of its useful life.
Grossi said he intended to discuss the fuel issue both at the plant and during his subsequent visit to Moscow, and that IAEA experts should be able to have an "independent safety assessment of the status of condition of this fuel".
Galushchenko said the experts needed an opinion from the fuel producers - the Russian company TVEL and Westinghouse - on whether it can continue to be used.
"Its service life is over and the manufacturer has to say whether the fuel can be used further. If not, then it is necessary to take action to unload this fuel... then the question of storing that fuel," he said.
Zaporizhzhia was one of Ukraine's key energy assets, guaranteeing both the country's domestic energy needs and substantial electricity exports.
Last month Ukraine said it intends to start construction of new nuclear power generating facilities in the second half of this year to compensate for the loss of Zaporizhzhia.