IAEA: Despite Russian annexation, Zaporizhia nuclear plant ‘obviously’ Ukrainian

Its nuclear power plant Zaporizhiathe largest in Europe, is “obviously” Ukrainian, despite its official appropriation by Moscow, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today Raphael Grossi, confirming that a nuclear accident is “highly likely”.

“For us, it is obvious that the plant belongs to (Ukrainian nuclear power company) Energoatom as it is a Ukrainian plant,” Grossi said during a news conference in Kyiv after being received by President Volodymyr Zelensky and before flying to Moscow for talks with officials.

“We continue to say what needs to be done, which is essentially to prevent a nuclear accident at the station, which remains a very, very clear possibility,” he said, also denouncing the “almost unbearable conditions” in which Ukrainian staff are working at the station.

Russia has officially appropriated the factory it seized militarily in early March, according to a decree signed Wednesday by President Vladimir Putin.

The plant, Europe’s largest, is located in the Zaporizhia region, one of the Ukrainian territories Russia declared annexation of last week, not far from the demarcation line between territories controlled by Kyiv and those occupied from Moscow.

“This is a matter that has to do with international law … we want the war to stop immediately and certainly the position of the IAEA is that this factory is a Ukrainian factory. We are an international organization governed by international law and, as you know, annexations are not acceptable under international law,” Grossi added while saying he would deal with the “practical consequences” of annexation.

RES-EMP

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