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IAEA will ultimately say who shells Zaporozhye NPP — Russian diplomat

Mikhail Ulyanov said Russia is convinced that "sooner or later" evidence will emerge, and then the organization's secretariat will have to name the culprit
Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

VIENNA, July 5. /TASS/. Although IAEA experts are now allegedly unable to determine who shells the Zaporozhye NPP and the nearby town of Energodar, they will name the culprit with time, said Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to international organizations in Vienna.

"Unfortunately, the agency is still not ready to name the perpetrators of these bombardments, citing the lack of 'incontrovertible evidence.' IAEA experts at the plant are allegedly unable to determine who operates these drones and carries out attacks on ZNPP and its satellite town," the diplomat said.

But he said Russia is convinced that "sooner or later" evidence will emerge, and then the organization's secretariat will have to name the culprit.

Russia has repeatedly brought the situation at ZNPP to the attention of relevant international organizations, primarily the IAEA. The agency’s director-general, Rafael Grossi, stated that drone attacks pose an obvious danger to Energodar residents and the plant, Ulyanov said.

"So far, the agency's reticence has only encouraged Ukrainian forces to continue reckless actions that jeopardize nuclear safety, including the nuclear safety of Ukraine itself," the diplomat said.

Earlier, Rosatom Director-General Alexey Likhachev said that on the morning of July 3 Ukrainian drones carried out three attacks on the Raduga substation, which is part of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant’s system. According to the executive, the attacks injured eight ZNPP employees, as the strikes occurred while repair work was being carried out at the substation.