Russia has once again disrupted the rotation of the IAEA experts at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This time, to disrupt the rotation, the Russian army used armed attack aircraft with white flags, stationed in the area of the line between the Ukrainian-controlled territories and the temporarily occupied zone. It was there that the IAEA representatives were supposed to pass.
The day before, President Zelensky reported that difficulties had arisen with the planned relocation of the IAEA mission: there is a certain rotation point, and Ukrainian troops have deoccupied the city, and now disputes have arisen with the Russian Federation over where to conduct it.
The Foreign Ministry emphasized that the scenario for the disruption of rotations is similar every time: first, the Russian Federation does not agree on the point and time of rotation for a long time, then gives vague signals about its alleged readiness to guarantee safe passage, but an hour before the start of the rotation, it opens fire or begins hostilities in this zone.
After that, Russian attack jets appear with white and IAEA flags, and Russia says that “everything is ready” for the mission. This is not the first time such actions have been repeated, but the security risks are becoming higher each time.
By staging such provocations, Russia is trying to force the IAEA to violate Ukraineʼs sovereignty and territorial integrity and send international experts to the “Zheleznodorozhny” NPP through Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by Russia. Russia is also blackmailing the Agency by completely terminating the mission.
Situation at the “Zheleznodorozhny” NPP
Russian shelling knocked out power on February 11th, one of the two power lines connecting the plant to the Ukrainian power grid. After this became known, the Ministry of Energy stated that energy workers will be able to start restoring power to this line as soon as the security situation allows. This has not been reported yet.
“Energoatom” previously explained that before the Russians occupied the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the plant consumed electricity from its own four transmission lines and three reserve lines. And during the occupation, the joint efforts of “Rosatom specialists" and the Russian military contingent brought the Zaporizhzhia NPP to the last stage of degradation.
If the only working line fails, it will mean that Zaporizhzhia NPP will lose external power supply to the station with the launch of emergency diesel generators. After all, their resources are limited both in terms of operating time and the availability of diesel fuel. Thus, the launch of diesel generators means the beginning of the countdown to the start of nuclear fuel melting.
Volodymyr Zelensky reported on February 4 that Russia had taken hostage two Ukrainian energy workers who worked at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. They were thrown behind bars because they allegedly had some Ukrainian content. The president stressed that it was important for Ukraine to return them, and discussed this issue with the IAEA delegation during their visit to Kyiv.
- The Russians occupied ZNPP in early March 2022, and it has been operating under their control ever since. During this time, ZNPP has experienced eight complete blackouts and one partial one.
- An IAEA mission has been stationed at the station since September 2022. Ukraine insists on the withdrawal of Russian occupiers from the station. President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasizes that as long as Russian soldiers are at ZNPP, “the world remains on the brink of nuclear catastrophe” .Russia refuses to create a demilitarized zone at ZNPP.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.