The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Argentine Rafael Grossi, warned on Monday that the situation at the Ukrainian Zaporozhye plant, which is under Russian control, is increasingly dangerous and insisted that it is necessary to allow access to the agency’s experts to avoid a tragedy, reports the EFE agency.

“We need everyone’s support for this to happen. We are ready,” Grossi said in a speech at the opening of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference, which runs at UN headquarters until August 26 .

The head of the IAEA recalled that he had been preparing for two months to lead a team of experts to go to Ukraine to analyze the situation in Zaporozhye, but so far they have not been allowed to go further, according to Agerpres.

“As long as this war continues, inaction is unthinkable,” stated Grossi, who emphasized that it must be avoided that this conflict causes “a nuclear tragedy” in Ukraine, because the situation at this plant “becomes more and more dangerous with every day passing.”

Zaporozhye, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant by output, has been under the control of Russian forces since March, which has caused problems for the IAEA due to frequent disconnections in providing data on the plant’s status.

In June, Ukraine opposed a visit by the IAEA to the plant, considering that this “legitimizes the permanence of the Russian occupiers,” while Russia assures that the plant is operating normally, writes EFE.

On the other hand, Grossi also referred on Monday to other issues that concern a lot in the context of nuclear proliferation: the negotiations regarding the Iranian atomic program and the situation in North Korea.