IAEA Was Supposed To Record Shelling Of ZNPP By Ukraine - Zaporizhzhia Region Authorities

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2022) The authorities of the Zaporizhzhia Region said the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) mission was supposed to record the ongoing shelling of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) by Ukraine, head of the regional administration Yevhen Balytskyi said.

On Tuesday, the IAEA published a report on the work of its delegation at the ZNPP. Among other things, the organization recorded damage to a special unit for storing radioactive waste and fresh nuclear fuel. IAEA officials called for an end to the shelling of the plant and its environs, as this could damage critical equipment and release radioactive materials in an unrestricted manner. It suggested creating a nuclear security protection zone around the NPP.

"The structure, which is designed not only to control, but also to regulate the operation of nuclear facilities, for the inhabitants of the Zaporizhzhia Region, for those who work at the plant today, daily ensuring its work under a death threat, did not say anything. It did not indicate a firm position, did not name things by their proper names. No conclusions have been drawn. The Names of the terrorists have not been mentioned. Resolutions ensuring the safety of the nuclear reactor have not been adopted," Balytskyi wrote on Telegram.

He said representatives of the IAEA mission, being at the ZNPP, saw where the shelling was coming from, but decided to keep silent about it.

"They were supposed to record that Ukraine continues, as ISIS (a terrorist group banned in Russia), to fire at the nuclear reactor. We expected from the mission that shelling of the ZNPP would stop," Balytskyi said.

Russia accuses Ukrainian troops of systematic shelling of the ZNPP and regrets that the IAEA did not indicate the source of the fire in its report following the visit to the plant.