Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry names three essential conditions for safety at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
EUROPEAN PRAVDA — MONDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2022, 19:31
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has emphasised that the conditions required to ensure safety at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) - and which Kyiv is ready to agree to - are its liberation, demilitarisation, and return to Ukrainian control.
This was stated by Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writes European Pravda.
"It is only possible to ensure nuclear safety at the ZNPP after it has been liberated, demilitarised, and returned to Ukrainian control. All of the IAEA’s efforts should be directed toward that end. Nothing else [no other proposals] will force Russia to stop its dangerous game," Oleh Nikolenko stressed.
Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that he saw signs of agreement from both Ukraine and Russia on the establishment of a nuclear safety zone around the ZNPP, and that Kyiv and the Kremlin are in discussions with the IAEA regarding the radius of the nuclear safety zone and the role of the agency's personnel in this process.
The situation at the ZNPP has been in the spotlight since the beginning of August, when the Russian military began shelling the plant. Russia has rejected calls for the demilitarisation of the nuclear power plant on the pretext that it needs to "protect it" from provocations, and blames Ukraine for the shelling.
After a short mission to the ZNPP, the IAEA experts confirmed that Russia has deployed "military personnel, vehicles and equipment" in various locations at the plant.
Rafael Grossi recently called for an immediate end to shelling in the ZNPP area and for the establishment of a "security zone" around it, emphasising that power outages at the plant increase the risk of an accident.
On 11 September, Energoatom announced that the ZNPP would be completely shut down due to the impossibility of maintaining a stable power supply for the needs of the plant.
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