IAEA experts leave Kyiv for Zaporizhzhia NPP
A mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency went to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to assess the situation and establish a permanent representation
This was reported by a correspondent of Ukrinform and the russian propaganda publication RBC.
As noted, the invaders said they gave the mission one day to work.
"We are finally leaving for the plant after six months of effort. The IAEA is heading to the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
As you know, we have a critical task – to work and examine the factual situation there, to help stabilize the situation as much as possible," IAEA Director General Mariano Grossi emphasized at a briefing in Kyiv.
According to him, the mission plans to spend several days at the station, in particular, to talk with the staff and report on the trip's results.
The organization also intends to establish a permanent representation at the station.
In turn, the so-called head of the Zaporizhzhia military-civil administration, Yevhen Balytskyi, appointed by the invaders, stated that the IAEA mission to the ZNPP was planned for one day.
"The program of the visit is designed for one day. They have to review the operation of the station in one day.
Those elements that they will say can be reviewed in the process. So far, it has been declared (as the purpose of the visit – ed.) to 'get acquainted with the work of the station.' For us, this is a vague concept," he said.
Gauleiter also stated that on the territory of the NPP, they are ready to show "evidence of shelling of the plant by Ukraine" and provide "testimony of residents."
Balytskyi noted that the IAEA mission should go to the NPP through the town of Vasylivka in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is under the control of russian forces, and from there to Enerhodar.
International Atomic Energy Agency Mission
Ukraine has repeatedly emphasized the need for an IAEA mission at the ZNPP.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the mission could quickly and safely legally get to the station through the free territory of Ukraine.
The IAEA visit was actively discussed after russian troops repeatedly shelled the territories near the station.
The invaders are doing everything possible to disrupt the visit.
It is reported that with the last shelling, they hit between the second and third reactors; satellite images of the Maxar Technologies company confirm this.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP is again supplying electricity to the Ukrainian grid–both of the power units of the ZNPP that were stopped on Thursday have been connected to the grid.
The specialists of the State Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority calculate the direction of the wind and the potential contamination of the territories in the event of an accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant every day.
On August 29, the delegation left for Ukraine. It included 14 international experts. As the New York Times wrote, the mission includes experts from Poland and Lithuania, which are friendly to Ukraine, and from Serbia and China, which support relations with russia.
The rest of the participants are representatives of countries that mostly stood aside from russia's war against Ukraine or kept open ties with the Kremlin. These are Albania, France, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, and North Macedonia.
The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleh Nikolenko, said that during the visit to the ZNPP, the IAEA mission would focus on three tasks: physical protection, nuclear safety, and guarantees of non-proliferation of nuclear materials.
On August 30, the IAEA mission arrived in Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky met with members of the delegation.
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