IAEA suspends rotation of its mission to Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
Pravda Ukraine
The IAEA has been forced to postpone the rotation of its mission at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) due to the lack of security guarantees from Russia.
Source: Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry
Details: Tykhyi stressed that this is not the first time the Kremlin has used blackmail as a tool to intimidate international experts and undermine their independence. For example, Tykhyi added that during one of the previous rotations, Russia struck an IAEA vehicle with a drone.
Tykhyi said that Moscow had at least two reasons to put pressure on the IAEA’s independence: the first was to force international recognition of the illegal occupation of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant; the second was to manipulate the operational situation in the area around the plant.
He reiterated that the Russian occupation of ZNPP is illegal and poses a serious threat of a nuclear incident.
“Only the return of the plant to its rightful owner, Ukraine, will allow [us] to restore nuclear safety and security in line with IAEA norms and standards,” Tykhyi said.
Background: On 5 January, the IAEA reported loud explosions near ZNPP.
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