This Wednesday, Vladimir Putin completed the annexation of the four regions occupied by his army in Ukraine. By signing the law provided for this purpose, he “accepted into the Russian Federation” the Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. At the same time, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, seized by his troops in March and where Ukrainian personnel continue to work, will pass under the Russian flag.
In fact, the Russian Foreign Ministry informed through a statement sent to the RIA agency that the largest nuclear site in Europe would come under the control of the Russian atomic administration as soon as the annexation of the region ends.
The center in the blur
This decision comes a day after the announcement by the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, that he would travel to Kyiv and then to Moscow “within a week” to discuss the establishment of a zone of protection around the plant. It must be said that this crucial installation, in the heart of a highly disputed province, suffered all the onslaught of the horrors of war, even being the target of recurrent bombings of which the two belligerents accuse each other.
In another recent turmoil around the plant: the Russians arrested Igor Murachov, the plant’s director, before releasing him two days later. The IAEA also welcomed his release in a press release Tuesday night, saying the man “would not resume his duties.” “We still don’t know who will replace him,” the agency admitted. One more shadow around the Zaporizhia power plant.
Source: BFM TV
