A new group of observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived yesterday at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia NPP in Ukraine, the Moscow-appointed head of the site announced, quoted by Reuters. He added that this is the first time the mission has arrived through Russian territory. The IAEA rotation comes after weeks of delays caused by fighting around the site, with each side accusing the other of violating rules to ensure the team's safe passage to the plant. "It is of fundamental importance that for the first time the route passed through the territory of the Russian Federation," Yuri Chernichuk, the Russian-appointed head of the power plant in southeastern Ukraine, said in a video on the social network Telegram. The arrival of the three inspectors was secured by the Russian Defense Ministry and the National Guard and followed "intensive" consultations between the heads of Russia's state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom and the IAEA, Chernichuk said. Reuters notes that the information could not be independently verified. The IAEA was not immediately available for comment on the Russian statement. There was no official comment from Ukraine either.
Russian troops seized the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (the largest in Europe, with six reactors) in the first weeks of their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It is currently not generating electricity.
Since then, Russia and Ukraine have regularly accused each other of firing at or near the plant and creating the risk of a nuclear accident.
The IAEA has deployed personnel to the plant since September 2022 and is also present at Ukraine's other nuclear power plants.
Rafael Grossi, the IAEA's executive director, has repeatedly called on both sides to refrain from actions that pose a risk to the site, Reuters recalls.