MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. Kiev should stop shelling the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant for a visit by the IAEA mission to happen, Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Wednesday.
"I have to say that in order for the mission to happen and be successful, it is necessary for the Ukrainian side at least to stop creating artificial obstacles. We’ll see how it will go this time, so far the Ukrainian side and its officials have not given the least grounds to believe that Kiev welcomes such a mission, it’s rather the opposite," he said.
"I think that it is in our interests for this to happen as soon as possible but safety issues, of course, will play a very serious part, sending an international mission under the bombardment by Ukrainian artillery is quite problematic so the Ukrainians should immediately stop shelling the Zaporozhye NPP," the envoy added.
That said, the diplomat noted that it was quite possible that the visit by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to the NPP would be related to a number of difficulties. "In any case, now we have certain expertise. <…> We worked through the most complex logistics issues, the most complex safety issues, so now, if the issue of implementing the mission is raised, and it will undoubtedly be raised, it will be easier to duly prepare it," he added.
On June 3, the Russian side and the leadership of the IAEA Secretariat fully coordinated the route and the timetable of the agency’s international mission of experts to the Zaporozhye NPP led by Grossi. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the trip was undermined at the last minute by the Department for Safety and Security of the UN Secretariat.
The Zaporozhye nuclear plant is the largest one in Europe. The facility used to produce one-quarter of all of Ukraine’s electricity. Its total capacity is about 6,000 Megawatts, and it includes six reactors. Right now, the plant operates at 70% of its full capacity, due to the overproduction of power in the Zaporozhye Region. In the future, it is supposed to supply power to Crimea.