MOSCOW, September 4. /TASS/. A senior Russian lawmaker has called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to give an unbiassed assessment of the situation around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and threats to it stemming from Ukraine’s non-stop shelling attacks.

"We strongly call for an objective assessment of the situation and real threats created by the Kiev regime amid continuing shelling attacks on the ZNPP. Ukraine is indulging in nuclear terrorist at the state level, which is fraught with catastrophic consequences. The IAEA’s dodging honest conclusions about who is responsible for the deadly ‘nuclear games’ only encourages the impunity and aggression of Zelensky’s neo-Nazi junta," Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the international committee of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), wrote on his Telegram channel.

He welcomed the IAEA’s attention to the developments around the ZNPP. "But how long are they going to only state the threats but turn a blind eye on where they originate. Or rather pretend that anything is yet unclear and unverified is a bid not to contradict the collective West’s policy of support for Ukrainian fascists," he emphasized.

Zaporozhye Region governor Yevgeny Balitsky said on Sunday that Ukraine’s shelling attack on the city of Energodar was followed by a fire at a ZNPP’s cooling facility. According to ZNPP’s press service, the fire broke out near ZNPP’s cooling towers. The fire was put out, not affecting the plan’s operation. Following two inspections, IAEA experts failed to identify the cause of the fire.

Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov met with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on August 14 and called on the agency to publicly say who is to blame for the attacks on the ZNPP.