VIENNA, July 25. /TASS/. Russia has the right to take measures to protect the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) depending on its own estimate of the scope of threats to the facility, Russian Deputy Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Roman Ustinov told TASS on Tuesday.

Being a signatory to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM), Russia can assess threats on its own.

"The current situation around the plant, which is located on the combat engagement line with the permanent risks of seizure attempts by Ukrainian troops, requires relevant measures of ensuring its security. In this context, our decision to use additional means of protection such as mines is quite justified. Russia has the right to take measures which are needed to prevent a catastrophe at Europe’s biggest nuclear plant," he said, commenting on the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) statement that antipersonnel mines had been spotted outside the site perimeter.

According to the Russian diplomat, the use of mines to protect the facility does not run counter to the existing nuclear safety rules.

Grossi said on July 24 that the agency’s experts had "observed directional anti-personnel mines on the periphery" of the facility. The mines were seen in a buffer zone between the site’s internal and external perimeter barriers. The experts reported that the mines were in a restricted area that plant personnel cannot access. No mines were discovered within the site. According to Grossi, experts believe that the detonation of these mines will not affect the ZNPP’s nuclear safety as they were facing away from the site.

Located in the city of Energodar, the Zaporozhye NPP is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and has six power units with an aggregate capacity of 6 GW. Russian forces took control of the facility in February 2022.