IAEA Postpones Mission Rotation At Zaporizhzhia NPP Over Lack Of Security Guarantees From Russia

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) IAEA has postponed mission rotation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant due to lack of security guarantees from Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on the international community to support the Agency, whose leadership is under unprecedented pressure from the aggressor state.

This was stated in a commentary by Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi , Ukrinform reports.

“In the absence of security guarantees from Russia, the IAEA has been forced to postpone the rotation of its mission at the Zaporizhzhia NPP,” Tykhyi noted.

He noted that this is not the first time the Kremlin has used blackmail as a tool to intimidate international experts and undermine their independence.“For instance, one of the previous rotations saw Russia striking an IAEA vehicle with a drone,” the Foreign Ministry spokesman recalled.

Read also: IAEA backs completion of nuclear units' construction at Khmelnytskyi NPP - Zelensk

According to the official, Moscow has at least two reasons to put pressure on the IAEA's independence: the first is to forcefully impose international recognition of the illegal occupation of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant, and the second is to manipulate the situation in the area around the plant.

Tykhyi noted that Ukraine highly appreciates the work of the IAEA in unprecedented security conditions.

"We will not allow Russia to undermine the Agency's independence and impartiality in order to achieve its criminal goals. We urge the international community to stand firmly in support of the IAEA and to strongly condemn the ongoing unprecedented pressure that the aggressor state continues to exert on its authority," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Tykhyi once again recalled that Russia's occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is illegal, posing a grave risk of a nuclear incident.

Read also: IAEA chief arrives at Kyivska electrical substatio

"This is an unprecedented case of an aggressor occupying a nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe, and turning it into a military base. Only the return of the plant to its rightful owner, Ukraine, will allow to restore nuclear safety and security in line with IAEA norms and standards,” he stressed.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on February 4, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi arrived in Ukraine on a visit.

On Tuesday, Grossi reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency visited nine electrical substations critical for the operation of nuclear power plants across Ukraine, and assesses the situation there as quite critical.

President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Rafael Grossi in Kyiv, focusing on nuclear safety.

Zelensky and Grossi also discussed the issue of mission rotation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

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