The mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plans to negotiate and visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by September 5. Members of the mission will include security experts who are not normally involved in such visits.
Bloomberg writes about this with reference to sources.
According to the publication, the members of the mission will have wider powers than usual. Both nuclear specialists and safety and security specialists are planning to come to the station.
Initially, the IAEA planned to visit the nuclear power plant only to make sure that the stockpiles of enriched uranium did not disappear from the plant during the war. However, the appearance of security specialists among the members of the mission may indicate that the IAEA plans to also analyze the consequences of the shelling of the ZNPP, which can be used to identify the perpetrators of the shelling.
On Wednesday, IAEA Director Rafael Grossi spoke with representatives of Rosatom — they were to discuss the details of the mission. It will go through the territory controlled by Ukraine, and then it will approach the ZNPP and Energodar. Most likely, IAEA members will get there via the Dnipro River.
- The Zaporizhzhia NPP is under constant fire. On August 5, 6, 11, and 13, Russian troops shelled the territory of the ZNPP and its facilities. One of the stationʼs engineers said that Rosatom employees are correcting the occupantsʼ fire at the NPP. They tell the military where to shoot so that it is "loud but not painful."
- Scientists separately warned that the actions of Russian troops could lead to a disaster on the level of Chornobyl or Fukushima.
- On August 11, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for the creation of a safe perimeter around the ZNPP and the cessation of any military operations around it. He insists on the complete withdrawal of military personnel and equipment, followed by a moratorium on the placement of troops at the ZNPP. The USA supported this idea, but Russia is against it.
- On August 23, the Ukrainian Energoatom reported that the Russian military had increased its presence on the territory of the ZNPP. They also brought additional equipment there.