Russians planning to invite IAEA chief to captured Zaporizhia NPP - Energoatom

That’s according to Energoatom, Ukraine’s nuclear energy operator, Ukrinform reports.

It is noted that in preparation for the potential visit, Russian forces hold special meetings with representatives of Rosatom and even communicate with the IAEA to organize the trip.

Energoatom notes that the visit of the Director General or other IAEA officials to ZNPP would be an attempt to legitimize in the eyes of the international community the seizure of the station by nuclear terrorists. That’s in order for the IAEA to arrive, record a safe radiation background and control over nuclear materials, approve the state of nuclear and radiation safety, and generally emphasize that “everything is fine” at the nuclear power plant at the moment. That’s if claiming that all other issues are political, while the IAEA is not involved in politics.

Energoatom notes that it is unclear how the IAEA mission can get to the station, as no Ukraine authority invited them there, primarily for security reasons.

"To come to ZNPP through Russia and then Crimea or other temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, accompanied by Russian military without Ukraine’s will?! This would mean ignoring international law, as well as interfering in political issues – on Russia's side. Also this would mean inflicting damages the agency as the world's leading nuclear safety institution, whose image is already quite questionable due to the lack of adequate response to acts of nuclear terrorism, including the seizure of the Zaporizhia NPP by the ruscists," Energoatom said.

At the same time, the IAEA's clear and persistent stance on the withdrawal of Russian troops, tanks, other heavy equipment, and the removal of weapons and ammunition from the ZNPP premises, the policy of pressure on Russia to liberate the Ukrainian NPP plant from invaders and transfer control of the ZNPP to Ukraine is the only way to facilitate a visit by IAEA experts to the station to confirm its safe condition and assess the damage caused by the criminal actions of the occupiers, as has already been done at the Chornobyl NPP, the operator says.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Zaporizhia NPP has been temporarily occupied by Russian troops since March 4. Apart from the Russian military, Rosatom representatives have been illegally staying at the ZNPP site. Currently, there are about 500 Russian soldiers, heavy equipment, tanks, and explosives at the ZNPP. At the same time, Energoatom continues to control ZNPP in terms of its operation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to redouble their efforts to find ways to liberate ZNPP from Russian invaders as soon as possible, return it to full control of Ukraine, restore safety, and develop effective modalities of deploying a mission of international experts under the auspices of the IAEA / UN.

NNEGC Energoatom stated that the Ukrainian side did not invite Grossi to visit ZNPP and had previously denied him such a visit, emphasizing that it would be possible only after Ukraine regains control over it.