Likhachev announced China’s support for Russia’s actions on security at the ZNPP

Russia sees strong support from China in its actions to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhzhya NPP (ZNPP), Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev said on the sidelines of the Nevsky International Environmental Congress.

May 24 in Beijing Likhachev Meets with the head of the PRC Atomic Energy Agency Zhang Kejian.

“At the same time, we informed our colleagues about the state of affairs at the Zaporozhye NPP. It is clear that China, and especially the PRC nuclear community, is interested in the real state of affairs, we informed in detail about how work is going on, what is being done to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant, how life and social infrastructure are organized in Energodar. We saw strong support from the Chinese partners in our actions to ensure the safety of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant,” declared Likhachev (quoted by RIA Novosti).

Former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi declaredthat the disconnection of the Zaporizhzhya NPP from external power supply on May 22 demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of the situation with nuclear safety. He called the situation around the Zaporozhye NPP “playing with fire.” Grossi noted that he is negotiating with all parties to protect the ZNPP in order to avoid a real threat of a nuclear accident at the facility. Disconnection of the station on May 22 from external power supply was already the seventh in a row, he added.

Renat Karchaa, Advisor to the General Director of Rosenergoatom Concern, in April declaredthat the work of the Zaporizhzhya NPP will be transferred to Russian standards by 2030.

April 30 First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergei Kiriyenko I arrived to Energodar and visited the Zaporozhye NPP. At the nuclear power plant, Kiriyenko “assessed the general situation in the area of ​​the plant and got acquainted with the additional measures taken to protect it physically.”

Russia has controlled the ZNPP since the end of February 2022. Since then, the plant and the city of Energodar, in which it is located, have been subjected to regular shelling by Ukraine. In early October, after the Zaporozhye region became part of Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to take the plant facilities into federal ownership and create the Zaporozhye NPP FSUE to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities.

In early September last year, an IAEA mission headed by Director General Rafael Grossi arrived at the ZNPP. The organization called for an end to the attacks on the station and the establishment of a safe zone around it. Since that moment, IAEA experts have been constantly at the Zaporizhzhya NPP. The IAEA director has been promoting the idea of ​​a demilitarized zone over the past few months. In addition, at the end of March, Grossi himself arrived at the ZNPP. On March 23, he announced that the idea of ​​demilitarizing the zone around the Zaporizhzhya NPP was no longer being considered – now it is about cessation of hostilities in the area of ​​the plant.