IAEA says it's concerned now that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is under Russian command

The International Atomic Energy Agency is concerned that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is under Russian control.

In a statement on Sunday, the IAEA said that Ukraine needs to get approval from a Russian commander before they can do any management of the plant.

The statement said that the Director General expressed grave concern about the development and that it was going against one of the pillars of nuclear safety.

On Sunday, former US Under Secretary of Defense Mich Flournoy told Jake Tapper that Russia was irresponsible for shelling the Zaporizhzhia plant.

The way in which they went about this was incredibly irresponsible.

She said that it was just by luck that they didn't create a radioactive release. They are being extremely irresponsible about this.

The operating staff must be able to fulfill their safety and security duties and have the ability to make decisions without being pressured.

Russia has switched off some of the mobile networks and internet so that reliable information from the site can't be obtained through normal channels of communication, according to the IAEA.

Regulators are having trouble communicating with the plant. According to the IAEA, phone lines, email and faxes were no longer working. Poor quality cellphone communication was still possible.

The situation regarding vital communications between the regulator and the ZaporizhzhyaNPP is a source of deep concern, especially during an armed conflict that may jeopardize the country's nuclear facilities at any time. The director general of the IAEA said that reliable communications between the operator and the regulators are a critical part of nuclear safety and security.

Staff at the Chernobyl plant have not been rotating shifts since February 23, according to the statement.

Grossi called on those in control of the ChornobylNPP to allow staff to move around for the sake of safety and security.