Zaporozhye NPP ready to host reinforced IAEA mission — Russian official
On Tuesday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi announced that he will lead an IAEA mission to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant next week to rotate agency experts in light of the events caused by the destruction of the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant
MOSCOW, June 7. /TASS/. Russia respects the decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency to reinforce its mission at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, although the move is unlikely to increase its safety, said Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the director general of Rosenergoatom.
"We respect the plan by [IAEA Director General Rafael] Grossi to reinforce the quantity of the IAEA mission at the plant. We will host everybody," he told TASS.
According to Karchaa, the move would probably not do much to improve the safety of the plant because, he said, the ZNPP sees "aggressive actions of the Kiev regime, which are not consistent with either the spirit or the letter of the basic principles of nuclear safety" as the source of all risks at the plant.
"So, if someone tries to convince me that the IAEA can influence the aggressiveness of the Kiev regime, I will be happy to talk to that person. If this happens and the IAEA can do it, then kudos to them. It would surprise me very much."
On Tuesday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi announced that he will lead an IAEA mission to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant next week to rotate agency experts in light of the events caused by the destruction of the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. Grossi said that the team of agency experts at the station will be reinforced.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces inflicted a missile strike on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant overnight into Tuesday, destroying its valves and prompting an uncontrolled release of water. The water level in Novaya Kakhovka rose as high as 12 meters. Residents of nearby settlements are being evacuated. About 80 settlements may be affected by floodwaters. The destruction of the dam has caused serious damage to the environment, washed away farm fields along the Dnieper and raised the risk that the North Crimean Canal will dry up. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the attack on the Kakhovka HPP a deliberate sabotage attack by Ukraine and said that the Kiev regime should be held responsible for the consequences.