The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will continue visits to the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, which is occupied by Russian troops in Ukraine, despite reports of shelling nearby, Director General Rafael Grossi said.
“There were military activities, even this morning, a few minutes ago, but we have not stopped, we will continue,” Grossi told reporters in the town of Zaporizhia, some 120 kilometers from the plant.
“We will immediately start assessing the security situation at the factory,” he added.
According to information from the former mayor of the city, Dmytro Orlov, the Russians again attacked Enerhodar, the satellite city near the nuclear power plantwhere several civilians were injured.
A column with about 20 cars, half of them identified with the acronym of the UN, and an ambulance, arrived at the town of Zaporijia, located about 50 kilometers in a straight line from the nuclear power plant, at dawn this Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Russian army on Thursday accused the Ukrainian troops of having sent a team of “saboteurs” to the vicinity of the nuclear power plant, on the day of the visit of the IAEA mission.
The agency’s 14-person mission, received by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky the day before in kyiv, left the capital on Wednesday morning.
Russia has admitted allowing the IAEA to set up permanent representation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, agreeing to kyiv’s demands.
Let’s first look at the initial results of your presence there. (…) But we do not rule out this possibility. The matter is being analyzed,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
The director general of this UN nuclear agency, Rafael Grossi, confirmed this Wednesday, before leaving kyiv for Zaporyjia, that the mission intends to spend several days at the plant and that the organization also intends to create a permanent representation in the installations.
The plant fell into the hands of Russian troops in March, shortly after Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine, having been the target of several bombings, for which Moscow and kyiv deny responsibility.
Last week, the plant was briefly disconnected from the power grid for the first time in its history after power lines were damaged.
Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is “completely disconnected” from Ukraine’s power grid
Source: Observadora
