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Moscow believes protection of Zaporozhye NPP by Russian troops was justified — MFA

Maria Zakharova said the data about 30 tons of plutonium that were allegedly stored at the plant require further checking

MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. Russia believes it was justified that Russian troops have provided protection for the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to prevent leaks of radioactive materials, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Thursday.

The comments were in response to a statement by Rafael Grossi, director general of the IAEA, regarding nuclear materials at the plant.

"At the moment, the station is managed by a Ukrainian operator, the Russian armed forces are providing security for the Zaporozhye NPP," the diplomat said. "At the same time, we once again emphasize it was justified for the Russian military to start protecting the ZNPP from the perspective of preventing leaks of nuclear and radioactive materials at a nuclear facility located in the area of the special operation."

Zakharova said that the fuel at the station is unlikely to be suitable for making nuclear weapons. "It seems that reference was made to nuclear materials that are contained in nuclear fuel located at the station, including fuel loaded into reactors, as well as spent nuclear fuel unloaded into on-site storage facilities," she said. "Thus, uranium is low-enriched, and the plutonium in spent nuclear fuel can’t be separated without rather complex installations that exist in only a few countries in the world, and also, due to its isotopic composition, it can hardly be used to build nuclear weapons."

Zakharova said the data about 30 tons of plutonium that are allegedly stored at the plant require further checking.

Earlier, the IAEA director general said that the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant has 30,000 kg of plutonium and 40,000 kg of enriched uranium. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the IAEA is in contact with both Moscow and Kiev as the agency is planning to send a representative to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.