Zakharova pointed to the initiative of Russia in organizing the IAEA inspection at the ZNPP

The Russian authorities proceed from the fact that the inspection of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant will take place regardless of the “destructive influence of Kyiv”, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in the program “Sunday Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” on the Rossiya-1 TV channel “. She pointed out that the Russian side was the initiator of the inspection.

“We assume that she [инспекция МАГАТЭ] must really come true, regardless of what destructive influence the Kyiv regime and all those who stand behind it, and all those who use a nuclear facility as just a tool, not even blackmail, but terrorism, have on this process,” Zakharova said. . “What the Kyiv regime is doing around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is nuclear terrorism” (quoted from TASS).

She urged not to believe the “things of the West”, that Russia was “persuaded” into an IAEA inspection at the ZNPP. The diplomat stressed that it was Moscow that insisted on such an inspection.

“I requested, persuaded, moreover, I received full understanding from the IAEA, the IAEA Director General and did everything these months to make this trip happen. I remember Sergey Lavrov’s personal meeting with the IAEA Director General several months ago, I remember a huge number of contacts, telephone conversations and personal meetings of our representatives at this organization. Diplomatic efforts were aimed at ensuring that the inspection took place, ”said the representative of the Foreign Ministry.

August 26 Russian Foreign Ministry declaredthat the Ukrainian side is doing everything to disrupt the trip of the IAEA mission to the Zaporozhye NPP. The diplomatic department pointed out that Ukrainian troops were inflicting new strikes on the ZNPP, including hitting the spent nuclear fuel storage area. On the same day, it became known that Ukraine had lost electricity generated by the ZNPP – all six units of the plant were disconnected from the energy system of Ukraine.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal, citing sources reportedthat the IAEA mission could arrive at the ZNPP early next week. The details of the trip are being specified. According to the publication, the mission may bring spare parts, radiation control devices and other tools to ZNPP “amid fears that fighting in the area, which damaged power lines and caused fires at the facility, could lead to a nuclear catastrophe.”

During the special operation, the Russian army took control of a part of the Zaporozhye region of Ukraine, including Enerhodar, where the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the ZNPP, is located. Now the Armed Forces of Ukraine are regularly shelling Energodar, the surrounding villages and the territory of the ZNPP adjacent to the city.

Zaporozhye NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, located on the banks of the Kakhovka reservoir. Its construction began in 1977, the first four sides were launched from 1984 to 1987. The fifth began to produce energy in 1989, and the sixth – after the collapse of the USSR, in 1995. The capacity of each of the six VVER-1000 power units is 1 GW . True, the plant reached 100% of the installed capacity for the first time only in December 2021.

ZNPP annually generates about 40 billion kWh, providing a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity needs. In March 2015, ZNPP became the first nuclear power plant in the world to generate more than 1 trillion kWh of electricity since the commissioning of the first unit (for comparison: this output is slightly less than the annual consumption of the entire Russian Federation).