The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday demanded access to all buildings of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporijia (south), occupied by Russian troops, to “confirm the absence of mines or explosives on site”.
“As tension and military activity in the region increase, our experts should be able to verify the facts on the ground.” Rafael Grossi, director general of the UN agency, said in a statement: considering it “critical to clarifying the current situation”, at a time when Kiev and Moscow are accusing each other of planning provocations or attacks on the power station.
In recent weeks, IAEA officials on the ground have inspected several sites “without seeing any traces of mines or explosives so far”.
But the UN body was denied access to the roofs of the facilities that house reactors 3 and 4 or even some parts of the plant’s cooling system.
The military presence “appears unchanged,” adds the IAEA, which has not seen any bombing in the area recently either.
On Tuesday, Kiev accused Moscow of preparing a “provocation” on the spot, while Russia guarantees that the hostile country is planning an “attack” on the facility.
The Ukrainian army claims that “objects resembling explosives have been placed on the roofs in question”.
“Their blast should not damage the generators, but give the impression of bombing on the Ukrainian side,” the army continues, warning that Moscow will “use disinformation on this matter”.
Moscow, for its part, claims that Kiev intends to use “long-range precision weapons” and “drones” against the power station.
The largest nuclear power station in Europe, which fell into the hands of the Russian army on March 4, 2022, a few days after the invasion of Ukraine, has already suffered several fires and has been cut off from the electricity grid, a precarious situation that only increases the fear of a major nuclear accident.
According to Kiev, Russia has placed troops and weapons on its property.
May’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam, located in the Russian-occupied southern zone, raised concerns about the sustainability of the Dnieper basin, which is used to cool the plant’s six reactors.
On June 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of planning a “terrorist attack” involving a radiation leak at the Zaporijia factory, an allegation immediately rejected by the Kremlin and described as a lie.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
