The fighting at the Zaporizhia plant makes the IAEA mission “the most difficult in its history”

Ukrainians and Russians are awaiting the imminent arrival at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant of the mission of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which began its journey on Monday from Vienna to the plant (located in the southeast of Ukraine), where artillery attacks continue, according to both sides.

In kyiv there is satisfaction for the prompt arrival of the IAEA inspectors in Zaporizhia, something that, according to the Foreign Minister, Dmitro Kuleba, it is something that Ukrainians “have been requesting for a long time”.

At a press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, Kuleba recalled that the specialists now traveling to the Ukrainian plant “have extensive experience in inspecting nuclear power plants around the world in the most difficult circumstances.” . However, he stressed that “this mission will be the most difficult in the history of the IAEA”given the fighting in the area.

For decades, nuclear safety has remained Ukraine’s top priority, especially given our tragic past. Russian invaders turned Zaporizhzhya NPP into a military base putting the entire continent at risk. Russian military must get out of the plant — they have nothing to do there!

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 28, 2022

As for kyiv’s expectations, he specified that Ukraine expects a “clear” condemnation of the mission on “the violation of all nuclear security protocols” committed by Russia. “Russia has put not only Ukraine, but the entire world at risk from a possible nuclear accident. The international community must be united to demand the withdrawal of Russian troops from the plant,” she asserted.

On the other hand, the director general of the IAEA, the Argentine Rafael Grossi, has announced on his Twitter account that “the day has finally arrived, the IAEA mission is on its way to Zaporizhia”. He has published the message moments before the team boards a plane that has left the Austrian capital.

The day has come, @IAEAorg‘s Support and Assistance Mission to #Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) is now on its way. We must protect the safety and security of #ukraine‘s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility. Proud to lead this mission which will be in #ZNPP later this week. pic.twitter.com/tyVY7l4SrM

– Rafael Mariano Grossi (@rafaelmgrossi) August 29, 2022

Is about a group of 14 experts who will be in charge of inspecting the state of the installation, controlled since March by the Russians but operated by Ukrainian technicians. “We must protect the security of Ukraine and Europe’s largest nuclear power plant,” added Grossi, who is personally leading the mission.

Grossi has not given details of the experts’ travel route or the expected duration of the mission, which, according to some media consulted by Ephcould start on August 31 and end on September 3.

[La ONU, tras el ataque a la central de Zaporiyia: “El riesgo de desastre nuclear es real”]

Attacks in the vicinity

Moscow suggested today the possibility that some IAEA experts could stay at the plant permanently, as the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, has requested Grossi, although he specified that everything will be decided on the spot.

In the last few hours, Ukraine and Russia have denounced new attacks on the city of Energodar, where the plant is locatedas well as in neighboring towns.

According to kyiv, ten people have been injured in the Russian bombardments, four of them workers at the plant, which before the start of the fighting represented a fifth of Ukraine’s annual electricity production and which was disconnected last week. temporarily off the power grid for the first time in its history due to the attacks.

Ukraine’s state-owned atomic energy company, Energoatom, warned on Monday that the plant operates at the risk of violating fire and radiation safety standards following the Russian attack on Energodar. However, Russians and Ukrainians assured on Sunday and this same Monday that the radiation levels around the plant continue to be within the levels established by the standards.

Russia promises security

Moscow has been willing to guarantee the safety of experts from the UN nuclear agency during their stay in territory that is under the control of Russian troops.

“As regards the territory controlled by Russia, of course, the required level of security will be providedtaking into account the risks that prevail there and are associated with the incessant shelling from the Ukrainian side,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.

Peskov added that the organization’s experts will arrive at the plant “from an area controlled by the Ukrainian armed forces.” “There, as we understand, security will be provided by the Ukrainians,” he stressed.

At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry trusted in the impartial nature of the mission. In the opinion of the foreign spokesperson, Maria Zakharovathe conclusions of the international experts “must be based on their professionalism, on what they will see there, how they will assess the situation, based on their capacities and their professional competence”.

[Rusia juega con fuego: desconecta la central de Zaporiyia y se arriesga a la fusión del núcleo]

The pro-Russian authorities in Zaporizhia also promised to ensure the safety of the inspectors although they distrusted the result of the visit.

“We do not expect great results… but in any case we will guarantee their safety and we hope that their arrival will give hope to the people living in the liberated territories that the bombing of the plant will stop,” said Yevgeny Balitsky, leader of the administration imposed by Russia in the province.

counteroffensive in the south

At the military level, the Ukrainian Army announced on Monday that a counteroffensive has begun on “many fronts” in the south of the country. “Ukrainian armed forces have launched offensive actions on many southern fronts”said the spokeswoman for the defense forces of southern Ukraine, Nataliya Humenyuk.

The ‘Kakhovka’ operational-tactical group of the kyiv Army assured for its part that the 109 regiment of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian republic of Donetsk “has withdrawn from its positions in the Kherson region and the Russian paratroopers, who supported them, left the battlefield”.

[Jersón, la gran ofensiva que viene: Ucrania cambia de estrategia y baraja un contraataque a gran escala]

The pro-Russian authorities rejected the information from the Ukrainian military and called it “false”. “No one attacks and no one retreats. It’s pure fantasy”said Kiril Stremousov, deputy head of the Kherson Military-Civil Administration.

At the same time, the authorities of Nueva Kajovka, a city about 60 kilometers northeast of Kherson, have ordered the evacuation of inhabitants to anti-aircraft shelters on Monday due to the increase in Ukrainian missile attacks.

Simultaneously with the news about the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Germany has announced the intention to send “In the next weeks” more modern weapons to kyivwith special emphasis on the anti-aircraft protection system.