IAEA wants to send mission to Zaporozhye NPP by September 5

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants to visit the Zaporozhye NPP before September 5, reported Bloomberg, citing diplomats aware of the visit. During this period, a two-week mission is planned for the first security check of the station in 16 years – the decision to conduct it was made before the special operation.

According to Bloomberg, inspectors will have broader powers than previously thought, and as part of the IAEA mission to nuclear power plants will arrive representatives of security agencies and officials responsible for accounting for nuclear materials at the facility.

“IAEA officials initially sought to gain access to Zaporozhye only to make sure that stocks of enriched uranium were not missing. <...> The inclusion of security experts will allow the agency to potentially conduct an examination of the shelling of the plant, ”the publication said.

IAEA Director Rafael Grossi in an interview with France 24 declaredthat the organization has not yet received access to the Zaporizhzhya NPP, but is already “close to it”. He expressed hope that the mission would take place within a few days.

On August 16, it became known about the start of preparations for the second IAEA mission to ZNPP. Mikhail Ulyanov, permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, said that the preparations are still going slowly because of Grossi’s vacation. August 23 Director of the IAEA declaredthat the mission could take place within a few days in case of successful negotiations.

On August 23, an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council was held due to the situation at the ZNPP, during which Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN informed about photographic evidence of shelling of the Zaporizhzhya NPP by Ukraine, disseminated by Russia in the Council and the UN General Assembly. He also noted that since the last meeting of the UN Security Council, the situation at ZNPP has deteriorated significantly.

On August 24, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during his speech via video link at a meeting of the UN Security Council declaredthat the Russian military should leave the territory of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, and control over the plant should be transferred to the IAEA mission.