Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency — thus the world’s nuclear policeman — stabs two points with his knife into a white tablecloth.
“This is Moscow,” he says. “This is Kyiv.” Then he gestures between the two and marks Zaporizhzhia, a gigantic Ukrainian nuclear plant; this used to provide a fifth of the country’s electricity but has been occupied by Russian soldiers, making it one of the first civilian nuclear plants to be attacked in war.
“There is much more bombardment there now, and the Russians are pushing hard,” Grossi says, explaining that a rotating IAEA team has been present since 2022, in a bid to prevent another Chernobyl-style disaster. “It’s dangerous. But we have to be there,” he adds, revealing that he has made five trips himself — under direct gunfire.