LONDON, August 31. /TASS/. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) hopes to set up a permanent mission at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Reuters quoted IAEA chief Rafael Grossi as saying on Wednesday.
"That’s one of the most important things I want to do and I will do it," he said. According to Reuters, Grossi said the IAEA mission planned to spend "a few days" at the nuclear plant.
The mission is now going to a combat zone, Grossi said, "and this requires explicit guarantees, not only from the Russian Federation but also from Ukraine. We have been able to secure that," he added.
Reuters said earlier UN vehicles with members of the IAEA mission had left Kiev on Monday morning for a visit to the Zaporozhye NPP in Energodar.
The team of IAEA inspectors departed from Vienna on Monday and arrived on Tuesday in Kiev where they met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. UN diplomats told TASS on Monday that the mission would arrive at the Zaporozhye NPP via Kiev and a Ukrainian-controlled territory.
A UN official familiar with knowledge of the details told TASS on Tuesday that the mission led by Grossi includes representatives from ten countries: Albania, China, France, Italy, Jordan, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Serbia, and North Macedonia. The UN official explained that representatives of Russia and Ukraine were not included in the mission to ensure its neutrality and impartiality. He also noted that the inspectors would check nuclear safety at the plant, but would deal with no political or military issues. United Nations representatives provide assistance in logistics for a trip to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and security only.
The Zaporozhye NPP, located in the city of Energodar, is controlled by Russian troops. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces have carried out several strikes against the plant in recent days, using, in particular, drones, heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers. In most cases, the attacks are repelled by air defense systems, but some shells hit the infrastructure and the area of the nuclear waste repository, thereby posing a threat of radiation leakage.