Energoatom states that the IAEA Director General is trying to legalize the Russian occupation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP

The Ukrainian state-owned company Energoatom has stated that IAEA President Rafael Mariano Grossi is trying to legitimize the Russian occupiersʼ presence at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

This was reported by the press service of Energoatom.

Yesterday, IAEA President Rafael Mariano Grossi said that his agency was preparing an expert mission to ZNPP. This visit is supposed to be carried out at the request of Ukraine.

However, Rafael Mariano Grossi was accused of lying by Energoatom.

"We consider this message from the head of the IAEA as another attempt to get to ZNPP by any means to legitimize the stay of the occupiers there and in fact approve all their actions," the companyʼs press service said.

Energoatom explains that in fact the "loss of connection" between ZNPP and the IAEA was caused by the actions of the Russian occupiers, who cut off the Ukrainian operator Vodafone in a nearby city Energodar. The IAEA has a contract with Vodafone for data transmission.

"All data collection points and servers under the control of the Agency are closed and sealed. "Information is accumulated on the server and will be transferred when Vodafone is turned on," Energoatom assured.

The company suspects that the Russian side, with the prior consent of the IAEA, made sure that the Agency "lost control" without access to this information, and therefore the IAEA Director General would have a reason to come to the station.

"The Ukrainian side did not invite Grossi to visit ZNPP and had previously denied him such a visit, emphasizing that a visit to the station will be possible only when our country regains control over it," the statement said.

Energoatom also reminded that 100 people (almost a quarter) of the IAEA leadership are Russians. And also Grossiʼs deputy — the head of the Department of Nuclear Energy Mikhail Chudakov — is a citizen of Russia.

• The Russians occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on March 4, 2022. They also occupied the satellite city of Energodar. During the capture, they fired at one of the power units of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, which caused a fire.
• There are currently about 500 Russian troops at the station. The Ukrainian technical staff controls the station, but under pressure.
• On June 2, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuriy Boyko said that Ukraine could completely stop the occupied ZNPP if it lost control. However, Energoatom denied this.
• On June 3, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian occupiers were threatening the operation of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. There are almost no spare parts and consumables at the station.