Ukraine has condemned officials from the U.N.’s atomic energy agency for traveling though Russian-occupied territory to visit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
A new monitoring mission from the nuclear watchdog arrived at the plant, which is in Ukraine but currently held by Russian forces, on Saturday, taking a route via other occupied areas.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry criticized the visit, blaming “Russian blackmail and systematic attempts to impose upon international organizations illegal and contradictory mechanisms of operating on the temporarily occupied territories,” Reuters reported.
Previously, monitoring missions have entered Russian-occupied plant from territory controlled by Kyiv. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) did not immediately respond to a request by the news agency for comment on Sunday.
The IAEA delegation landed in Zaporizhzhia after weeks of delay caused by military activity around the site, with each side blaming the other for violating rules to ensure the team’s safe passage to the plant.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry criticized the visit, blaming “Russian blackmail and systematic attempts to impose upon international organizations illegal and contradictory mechanisms of operating on the temporarily occupied territories,” Reuters reported.
Previously, monitoring missions have entered Russian-occupied plant from territory controlled by Kyiv. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) did not immediately respond to a request by the news agency for comment on Sunday.
The IAEA delegation landed in Zaporizhzhia after weeks of delay caused by military activity around the site, with each side blaming the other for violating rules to ensure the team’s safe passage to the plant.
“It is fundamentally important that the route passed through the territory of the Russian Federation for the first time,” Yuri Chernichuk, the Russia-installed head of the Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine, said in a video on Telegram.
The arrival of three inspectors, he added, was ensured by Russia’s defense ministry and national guard and followed “intense” consultations between the heads of Russia's state nuclear power company Rosatom and the IAEA.
Russian troops seized the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, in the first weeks of their February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It produces no electricity at the moment.
Russia and Ukraine have since routinely accused each other of firing on or near the station and risking a nuclear accident. The IAEA has deployed staff to the plant since September 2022 and is also present at Ukraine’s other nuclear plants.
Rafael Grossi, the IAEA's executive director, has repeatedly urged both sides to refrain from any actions posing a risk to the plant.
The arrival of three inspectors, he added, was ensured by Russia’s defense ministry and national guard and followed “intense” consultations between the heads of Russia's state nuclear power company Rosatom and the IAEA.
Russian troops seized the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, in the first weeks of their February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It produces no electricity at the moment.
Russia and Ukraine have since routinely accused each other of firing on or near the station and risking a nuclear accident. The IAEA has deployed staff to the plant since September 2022 and is also present at Ukraine’s other nuclear plants.
Rafael Grossi, the IAEA's executive director, has repeatedly urged both sides to refrain from any actions posing a risk to the plant.
More In Politics MORE...
