IAEA rotatation at ZNPP done via Russian-controlled territory for security reasons, Grossi claims

This is how the IAEA Director General commented on the relevant question from an Ukrinform staff correspondent at a press conference on the sidelines of the Board of Governors meeting in Vienna on Monday.

"That last comment of yours reminds me of things that we were discussing back in 2022, when some considered that the engagement by the agency on this issue could constitute a legitimation of military actions, occupation of territory, et cetera. And I think that we have proven together, Ukraine and the agency, we have proven that that was, of course, not the case," Grossi said, answering to a question of whether Ukraine was not informed about the planned rotation through occupied territory and whether such actions legitimize Russia's attempted occupation of ZNPP.

According to Grossi, on the contrary, constant presence of agency experts at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, and also at other facilities in Ukraine, as well as cooperation in a number of other areas, "have proven to be invaluable, really, for nuclear safety, security, and, hopefully, reconstruction".

"What happened now is an extraordinary circumstance, driven by the impossibility to conduct a rotation in a secure manner," he said.

According to the IAEA Director General, the only reason he made such an “extraordinary exception” to do the rotation of the agency's experts, who could not leave the plant since December due to the security situation, was done not through territory controlled by the Ukrainian government, is solely because of his concern and responsibility for the safety of these experts. "There were a series of episodes which led me to the conclusion that I could not take risks with the lives of my experts. Any other political consideration, I think, is out of place," he said.

Grossi also pointed to his contacts with the Ukrainian leadership and stated that the IAEA did not act unilaterally in this matter.

"I have been in contact. I discussed this with President Zelensky, with Foreign Minister Sibiha. So it's not true that we have been doing this in a unilateral manner," Grossi noted in his answer to the question.

When asked about the rotation route during a briefing, the IAEA Director General said that it ran "exceptionally through Russian territory".

"The rotation took place exceptionally through Russian territory. There's no more information that I can provide on that for security reasons," he said.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, yesterday, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by a number of IAEA employees as a result of Russian blackmail and systematic attempts to impose illegal and contradictory mechanisms of operation on international organizations in temporarily occupied territories.

It was pointed out that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russia was a special example of such Russian blackmail. Russia actually forced IAEA personnel to remain at the ZNPP without rotation for 80 days, which significantly exceeds the scheduled period, keeping people under unprecedented psychological pressure, in a zone of heightened risk.

Ukraine has repeatedly offered a safe and legal route for the rotation through the territory under its control. However, Moscow has systematically refused to provide the IAEA with security guarantees under these conditions. The Kremlin has deliberately blocked the safe departure of IAEA experts through the territory under Ukrainian control, forcing the Agency to agree to Russian conditions.

Ukraine has sent a note of protest to the IAEA leadership, condemning the violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity and warning the agency against any repetition of such actions in the future. It was noted that the issue of unprecedented blackmail by the Russian Federation will be raised at a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also emphasized that the activities of international organizations on the territory of Ukraine, especially in conditions of the ongoing war of aggression, must be carried out exclusively in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, international law, and UN principles.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's comment was made after it became known that the IAEA had deployed its personnel on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP through territory occupied by Russia without Ukraine’s consent.