IAEA has postponed the rotation of its mission at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant due to a lack of security guarantees from Russia.

This is mentioned in a comment from the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Georgiy Tikhiy, as reported by Ukrinform.

“Due to the lack of security guarantees from Russia, IAEA was forced to postpone the rotation of its mission at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,” noted Tikhiy.

He pointed out that the Kremlin has previously used blackmail as a tool to intimidate international experts and undermine their independence. “For instance, during one of the earlier rotations, Russia struck an IAEA vehicle with a drone,” the MFA spokesperson reminded.

According to him, Moscow has at least two reasons to pressure the independence of the IAEA: the first is to force international recognition of the illegal occupation of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant, and the second is to manipulate the operational situation in the area surrounding the station.

Tikhiy emphasized that Ukraine highly appreciates the work of the IAEA under unprecedented security conditions.

“We will not allow Russia to undermine the independence and impartiality of the Agency to achieve its criminal goals. We call on the international community to firmly support the IAEA and to decisively condemn the unprecedented pressure that the aggressor state continues to exert on its leadership,” stated the MFA spokesperson.

Tikhiy reiterated that the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant by Russia is illegal and poses a serious threat of a nuclear incident.

“This is an unprecedented case of an aggressor seizing the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and turning it into a military base. Only the return of the station to its legitimate owner, Ukraine, will allow us to restore nuclear safety and protection in accordance with the norms and standards of the IAEA,” he emphasized.

As reported by Ukrinform, on February 4, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi visited Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Grossi announced that the International Atomic Energy Agency visited 9 substations crucial for the operation of nuclear power plants in Ukraine and assesses the situation as quite critical.

President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting in Kyiv with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi. The focus was on nuclear safety.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and IAEA Chairman Rafael Grossi discussed the issue of mission rotation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.