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A body from the international entity in charge of regulating atomic energy went to the controversial nuclear facilities, a focus of conflict amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to assess the situation and prevent a new disaster. While kyiv continues to denounce bombings, Moscow was willing to accept that an IAEA delegation stay on a regular basis.
This Wednesday, August 31, a group of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived from kyiv to Zaporizhia, where they will inspect the state of the Ukrainian complex that is currently under the control of troops belonging to Moscow.
According to Ukrainian agencies, the mission will seek to establish a permanent representation in the facilities, an idea accepted by President Volodimir Zelenski, with whom they met on Tuesday.
The chances of an IAEA delegation staying in Zaporizhia indefinitely increased after Russia was open to giving the endorsement. The Russian representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, admitted that they welcome such an idea.
The director of the agency, Rafael Grossi, confirmed that “finally” they are moving towards the largest nuclear power plant in Europe to “assess the real situation” and “help stabilize the situation as much as possible.”
Among the complexities of the task is the fact of entering an active conflict zone, where bombings are registered almost daily. Grossi pointed out that they required “explicit guarantees, not only from the Russian Federation, but also from the Government of Ukraine”, something that was achieved, but that delayed the deadlines.
The Zaporizhia complex has been under Russian control since March 4 and has been the center of concern that an attack could cause an atomic crisis. Ukraine and the West have repeatedly asked the Kremlin to remove troops from the surrounding area.
In the last hours, kyiv again accused Moscow of carrying out a bombing in the city. Yevgen Yevtouchenko, head of the Nikopol administration, said that “the Russian army is shelling Energodar.” “The situation with these provocations is dangerous,” he added.
However, Russia has also accused the Ukrainian side of attacking the plant to increase tension in the area.
Russia cuts off gas supplies to Germany
The war in Ukraine gives no respite to the energy crisis in Europe. The company Gazprom announced this Wednesday that, until next September 3, the supply to Germany through the Nord Stream I pipeline will be interrupted due to maintenance work on the only pumping equipment in operation.
The Russian gas giant explained that the work will be carried out “together with specialists from the Siemens company” and that it is necessary to do it every thousand hours. However, they asserted that the pumping will be restored to the level prior to the cessation of operations, that is, 33 million cubic meters per day.
Moscow progressively reduced the amount of supplies through the Nord Stream citing technical problems and the need to repair turbines.
Auf die erneute „Wartung“ von #NordStream1 ist ?? besser vorbereitet: Die #gasspeicher sind zu fast 85% befüllt & wir können das #Gas im Winter auch wieder ausspeichern, wir sparen Gas (muss so bleiben!), die #LNG Terminals kommen & Dank ??, ??, ?? (& bald ??) fließt Gas. @bnetza
— Klaus Müller (@Klaus_Mueller) August 31, 2022
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov stressed that the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union “do not allow adequate technical service to be provided.”
However, European leaders believe that there is a political background behind the Russian restrictions on gas supply, which has caused energy prices to break records in the old continent for days. Before, Russia provided 40% of the gas needed by the European Union.
The president of the German network regulator, Klaus Mueller, assured “not understanding the technical needs of this new maintenance”, but recalled that his country is “better prepared” for this freezing of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, given that they have 85% of stored gas.
Mueller also tweeted that they are saving gas and drawing from sources in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and soon France. “We must keep saving,” she warned.
For its part, the European Union surpassed a level greater than 80% in its gas stores. That was the baseline that the community club set to ensure it ran smoothly in the fall and winter.
With EFE and Reuters
