The IAEA will leave several people at the Zaporozhye NPP on a permanent basis

The mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plans to leave part of the representatives at the Zaporozhye NPP on a permanent basis, said Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna.

“The IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhya NPP consists of about a dozen employees of the agency’s secretariat who deal with the issues of safeguards and nuclear safety. They are accompanied by a large team of UN staff dealing with logistics and security issues, ”said Ulyanov (quote according to RIA Novosti).

According to him, it is the CEO’s intention to keep a few people at the station on a permanent basis. The mission departed for ZNPP on Monday morning.

Earlier today, the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, said that the agency’s mission went to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Grossi reiterated that the purpose of the mission is to ensure the safety and security of “the largest nuclear facility in Ukraine and Europe.”

During a special operation in Ukraine, the Russian military took control of the ZNPP. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has repeatedly emphasized that it does not use the facility for military purposes and does not place weapons on its territory. The discussion of the visit of the IAEA mission to the station has been going on since the beginning of August, when the shelling of the nuclear power plant became more frequent. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the attacks on the station.

Earlier, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, reported on the photographic evidence of Ukraine’s shelling of the ZNPP by Russia in the UN Council and the General Assembly. Then he expressed hope that the IAEA mission would take place in the near future.

On August 16, it became known about the start of preparations for the second IAEA mission to ZNPP. A week later, the IAEA director said that the mission could take place within a few days if negotiations were successful.

On August 25, Bloomberg reported that the experts’ trip to the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant was scheduled no later than September 5. On the same day, Grossi announced that he would personally lead this mission. The IAEA Director General also admitted that the presence of experts at the station could become permanent.

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