The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog has demanded that Russia withdraw its forces from Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant two years after it captured the facility. Greenpeace described the occupied plant as a "nuclear time bomb" and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of threatening an "unprecedented escalation" if he orders the reactors to be restarted. Ukraine is haunted by the legacy of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986, so fears over Moscow's intentions are high.
The plant is located on the Dnipro River in eastern Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces occupy the opposite bank, leaving it in the "sights of both sides' militaries," The Guardian said. Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for shelling that has downed power lines.
All six of its reactors are shut down, but it still needs "constant power" to keep fuel in those reactors cool and prevent a "potentially catastrophic meltdown," Reuters said. Russia initially wanted to connect the reactors to its energy grid, but that plan was abandoned, The Guardian said.
However, recent comments from officials have "suggested a new attempt to restart nuclear energy generation may take place later this year." Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned that "any such action would require a number of considerations," including that it is an "active combat zone" and the plant "has been in shutdown for a prolonged period of time," The Straits Times said. Over the past 18 months, the plant has been cut off from external power eight times, forcing it to rely on diesel generators, Reuters said. So safety there "remains precarious." | 
