MOSCOW, September 1. /TASS/. Had the Kiev regime’s operation to seize the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant succeeded, the head of the IAEA mission and experts would have become the Ukrainian saboteurs’ human shield, the Russian Defense Ministry told the media on Thursday.
"It is obvious that in case of the Kiev regime’s seizure of the nuclear power plant IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi and the mission’s experts would become the Ukrainian saboteurs’ human shield, impeding any efforts by the Russian forces to liquidate the attackers," the Defense Ministry said.
It stressed that in that case the role of the IAEA’s mission would be confined to perpetuating a new status quo implying the ZNPP's transfer to Kiev’s complete control.
"There would follow another series of loud statements by Washington and the European capitals urging Russia to ensure a demilitarized zone around the NPP, where the Ukrainian army-guarded IAEA monitors would remain," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Kiev’s pre-planned provocation
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s regime had prepared a provocation involving saboteurs at the ZNPP well in advance. It was to be timed for the arrival of IAEA experts.
"Combat operations by groups of Ukrainian saboteurs, unleashed on the day of the IAEA experts’ arrival alongside the Ukrainian army’s artillery bombardments the Zaporozhye NPP leave no doubt that the Zelensky regime had been plotting this military provocation in advance," the news release reads.
The Russian Defense Ministry pointed to a clear link between the postponement of the IAEA mission’s visit and Kiev’s preparations for a provocation.
"It is the completion of preparations for an operation to seize the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant by Ukrainian saboteurs precisely on the day of IAEA experts’ arrival that explains why Grossi's visit to the power plant on August 31 was canceled for an ‘unscheduled’ meeting with Zelensky," the Defense Ministry stressed.
The Russian military and the National Guard frustrated Kiev’s provocation by Ukrainian sabotage groups near the ZNPP.
"This provocation was thwarted by effective counter-measures taken by the Russian armed forces and the National Guard," the Defense Ministry said.
IAEA mission gets down to work
The Defense Ministry said that at present the IAEA mission under Rafael Grossi had arrived at the nuclear power plant and began planned work, with the Russian side fully ensuring its safety. The agency's inspectors will assess the damage caused to the ZNPP and the efficiency of the power plant's personnel, as well as the facility’s safety and security systems.
"Grossi and his team deserve respect for going to the power plant despite Kiev’s provocations and bombardments by the Ukrainian military," the Ministry of Defense said.
Earlier, the military-civilian administration of Energodar said that the Ukrainian security forces in the morning had begun a massive artillery bombardment of residential areas of the city and the territory adjacent to the ZNPP. The bombardments killed three and injured five, including one child.