VIENNA >> Russia may eventually restart the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that it seized in southeastern Ukraine but shares the view of international monitors that it’s not practical and possibly dangerous to do so now, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief said Monday.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said he gained an understanding of Russia’s position during a meeting last week in Kaliningrad with Alexey Likhachev, the director-general of the Russian nuclear energy agency Rosatom.

Zaporizhzhia is Europe’s largest and one of the 10 biggest nuclear plants in the world. While its six reactors have been shut down for months, it still needs power and qualified staff to operate crucial systems to cool the reactors and the spent fuel pools. Russian forces seized the plant days after Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

– The Associated Press