The IAEA Director Rafael Grossi explained why the rotation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) was carried out through Russian-occupied territories. According to him, he was guided by the safety of the Agencyʼs specialists.
He said this during a press conference, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
"What happened now is an extraordinary circumstance due to the impossibility of safely conducting a rotation. The only thing that prompted us to such an unusual rotation is that I am responsible for the safety of my staff. This is an exception, and it is only to protect the lives of the experts, nothing more," he explained.
According to him, it is inappropriate to consider this decision of the Agency in the context of other political considerations.
Grossi believes that the rotation of the IAEA mission through the territory occupied by the Russian Federation does not legitimize the occupation of the Ukrainian ZNPP.
At the same time, he says that the IAEA did not act unilaterally, as it allegedly discussed the rotation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.
What preceded
On March 2, it became known that the Zaporizhzhia NPP conducted a rotation of the IAEA observers through the territories occupied by Russia without Ukraineʼs consent.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine sent a note of protest to the IAEA leadership.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed the IAEAʼs actions not as a rotation of experts at the Zheleznodorozhny NPP, but as a humanitarian evacuation in conditions of threat to the lives and health of people who are employees of the Agency.
They stated that Russia is deliberately creating obstacles to the work of international organizations in Ukraine, forcing them to violate Ukrainian legislation, bilateral agreements with Ukraine, and resolutions of the UN General Assembly.
Ukraine offered a safe and legal rotation route, but Moscow refused to provide security guarantees for the IAEA unless they left through the occupied territories, and disrupted the rotation several times.
To do this, the Russian army used armed attack aircraft with white flags, deployed in the area of the line between the Ukrainian-controlled territories and the temporarily occupied zone. The scenarios for the disruption of rotations are similar each time.
Situation at the Zheleznodorozhny NPP
Russian shelling knocked out power on February 11th, one of the two power lines connecting the station to the Ukrainian power grid. When this became known, the Ministry of Energy stated that energy workers would be able to begin restoring power to this line as soon as the security situation allowed. This has not been reported yet.
Previously, “Energoatom” 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.