IAEA Expanding Presence in Ukraine to Help Prevent Nuclear Accident During Conflict
20230116
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expanding its presence in Ukraine to help prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Monday.
"@IAEAorg is expanding its presence in #Ukraine to help prevent a nuclear accident during the ongoing conflict. I'm proud to lead this mission to [Ukraine], where we're deploying in all of the country's NPPs to provide assistance in nuclear safety & security," Grossi tweeted.
Moscow has consistently warned that by shelling Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) Ukrainian regime "actually toys with the lives of those living both in his country and the entire European continent."
Located on the left bank of the Dnepr River, the ZNPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in terms of number of units and output. During the special military operation in Ukraine, launched by Russia on February 24, the nuclear plant and surrounding area were taken by Russian forces and have since been repeatedly shelled by Ukrainian forces.
IAEA head came up with the idea to create an operational and physical nuclear security protection zone around the nuclear plant. Moscow supported this idea - with reservations.
"In principle, we support this initiative. But it is necessary to agree on the parameters of this zone so that this could not weaken the ZNPP's protection and add to a terrorist threat," stated Natalya Karmazinskaya, Russia's spokesperson at the UN.
© Sputnik
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
