MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. The Zaporozhye Region authorities do not expect much from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission coming to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, but will ensure its safety in any case, Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the regional military-civilian administration, said on Monday during a Rossiya-24 TV broadcast.
"As for the arrival of the IAEA [mission], we are not expecting big results. We understand that today the Americans have all European structures in their pockets, which, to a large extent, work solely in their interests. But in any case we will provide security. We hope this visit will give the people living in the liberated territory hope that the shelling will stop. <...> We hope that something will change with the arrival [of the mission]," he said.
Balitsky also pointed out that the IAEA mission did not notify the Zaporozhye military-civilian administration about its visit to the plant.
Russian Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Monday that the IAEA mission was currently on its way to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
Earlier, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that the agency’s mission to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant had been formed and would arrive there this week. The specialists will assess the physical damage caused to the plant and determine the operability of the safety and security systems of the facility. The specialists led by Grossi will also have to assess the working conditions of the plant personnel and take urgent measures to ensure safety of the plant.
The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, located in the city of Energodar, is under Russian troops’ control. Recently, Ukrainian forces have carried out several strikes on the territory of the plant, using drones, heavy artillery, and multiple rocket launchers. In most cases, the attacks are repelled by air defense systems, but shells have already hit infrastructure and the nuclear waste storage facility area, posing radiation leak threat.