“Provocation failed”
The Armed Forces of Ukraine sought to discredit Russian troops during the next rotation of observers of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), reported In the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.
The message states that “(during the passage of Mission members) the Ukrainian side attempted to discredit the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation as the guarantor of the security of the rotation.”
According to the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces of Ukraine used equipment that simulated the explosion of ammunition on the route of the inspectors’ movement. The Ministry of Defense stressed that despite this “provocation”, the RF Armed Forces ensured the safe passage of IAEA mission observers to the station.
The rotation of the members of the mission takes place in the area of the destroyed bridge for the passage of cars, near the village of Vasilyevka in the Zaporozhye region. The Russian side declared a ceasefire within a radius of 1 km from the crossing point in order to ensure security during the observer exchange. As the Ministry of Defense emphasized, despite the provocations, the Russian army strictly observed this regime.
Why is the station protected?
The Russian Ministry of Defense stressed that five IAEA inspectors moved to the station. Mission observers have been working at this largest nuclear power plant in Europe since September 1, 2022. The first shift began immediately after the general manager of the department, Rafael Grossi, visited ZNPP. The task is to monitor the ZNPP and check its security due to regular shelling in the area where it is located.
The station is located in the city of Energodar in the Zaporozhye region and includes six power units with a total capacity of 6 GW. On September 30, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decree on the entry of the territory into Russia. By the same decree, the DPR, LPR and the Kherson region were included in the country. Russia has been controlling the station since the end of February 2022.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of bombing the ZNPP district. Ukraine, on the other hand, accuses Russia of examining the scenario of “a terrorist act that will lead to radiation release” at the station. in the Kremlin in your name These statements are false.
Initially, two IAEA experts were on the station. Renat Karchaa, Advisor to the General Manager of Rosenergoatom Concern, in June declaration that in the future the number of observers at the station will increase many times over.
periodic shooting
On May 30, Grossi recalled the ban on firing in the ZNPP zone. As emphasized by the Director-General of the IAEA, no attack should be made on the station’s reactors, spent fuel storage facilities, other critical infrastructure or personnel.
In June, Grossi visited ZNPP once again. During the journey, the convoy briefly with the head of the agency stopped because of the shooting.
“The convoy was stopped at the time, the gunfire was clearly heard for several minutes, but there was no immediate danger to the convoy,” the IAEA said at the time.
At the beginning of the week, the director general of the agency announced the intensification of the offensive in the Zaporozhye region of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He said that these actions of Kiev increase the risk of damage to the ZNPP. He also said that Kiev has intensified its counterattacks in the region in recent weeks.
“It’s in the area in general, not at the station itself. Of course, this increases the likelihood of an attack or damage to the station,” Grossi emphasized.
Recently, the number of reports of attacks on the station area has decreased. one of the last Message It is dated 10 August on the interception of a Ukrainian drone near Energodar. But IAEA experts then I didn’t see this is a threat. Deputy head of the Zaporozhye region, Yevhen Balitsky, suggested last week that Ukraine halted the attacks because of fears that Russia might launch a retaliatory attack on the Rivne or Khmelnytsky nuclear power plants.