The IAEA director general “will travel to Kyiv and then to Moscow this week” to discuss the establishment of a protection zone around the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, according to a press release published Tuesday night.
Rafael Grossi “will continue the consultations” to establish said device “as soon as possible”, indicated the International Atomic Energy Agency, without specifying when it is expected to be in the two belligerent countries.
Uncertainty at the front of the plant
The Zaporizhia plant, the largest in Europe, has been occupied since early March by Russian troops, but it is not far from the demarcation line between the territories controlled by Kyiv and those occupied by Moscow.
It is located in the Zaporizhia region, one of the Ukrainian territories officially annexed by Russia on Friday. Moscow and Kyiv have been accusing each other of bombing the site for several months.
Its director, Igor Murachov, was arrested by Russia on Friday and detained for more than two days. “He is now with his family (…) and will not resume his functions” at the plant, “said the IAEA.” We still do not know who will replace him, “according to the same source.
“keep it simple”
Repeated attacks and mine explosions near the site have raised the specter of a major nuclear disaster similar to Chernobyl in 1986. If Kyiv advocates a demilitarized zone, Rafael Grossi had called in September to “keep it simple.”
“Ukraine and Russia must agree on the very simple principle of not attacking or bombing the plant (…), there must be a commitment that no military action will target the plant and its surroundings,” explained the head of the agency. the ONU. .
Source: BFM TV
