On Thursday at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency – A matter of political will the demilitarized zone around the facilities, said Rafael Grossi
THE International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) aims to “prevent a nuclear accident” at the Zaporizhia (southern Ukraine) station, which has been seized by Russian troops, its director general said Raphael Grossiwho is the head of the mission that arrived today in the region.
Asked about plans to create a demilitarized zone around the station, Grossi said “this is a matter of political will.”
“But my mission – I think it’s very important to say this very clearly – my mission is a technical mission”he stated.
An IAEA mission heading to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) has arrived in Zaporizhzhia city in southern Ukraine, Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy operator Energoatom said Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/fiWWoAmtYm
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“It’s a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident and protect this important nuclear power plant.”Europe’s largest, Grossi told reporters in the city of Zaporizhia, about 50 km from the station.
The IAEA mission of inspectors under Grossi, received by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday in Kyiv, left the capital early this morning. According to the Russian news agency TASSciting a pro-Russian official, the delegation is expected to arrive at the station tomorrow, Thursday.
“We have a very, very important mission to fulfill there, to assess the actual situation, to help stabilize the situation as much as possible,” Grossi said this morning in Kyiv. “We will spend a few days there.”
He said he received security guarantees from Russian and Ukrainian authorities.
“These operations are very complex: we’re going into a war zone, we’re going into occupied territory,” the official stressed.
Earlier today the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Galushenko told Reuters that the IAEA mission to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is a step towards the “liberation from occupation and demilitarization” of the region.
The station, which includes six power units, was seized by Moscow in March but is still operating with its Ukrainian staff under the supervision of Russian soldiers and nuclear engineers.
The area where the station is located, less than ten kilometers from Ukrainian positions on the other side of the Dnieper River, has been the target of repeated shelling over the past month, for which Kyiv and Moscow have exchanged accusations.
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