Russia urges UN “not to interfere” in future IAEA mission to Zaporiyia

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The Russian Foreign Ministry has appealed to the “responsibility” of the United Nations to “not interfere” in a possible future mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant, on Ukrainian territory and the scene of recent tensions in the framework of the war.

Likewise, the Russian diplomatic portfolio has acknowledged in a statement that it is ready to provide “the maximum possible assistance in resolving all organizational problems” in view of an international mission to the plant.

Moscow thus recalled the episode in early June, when Russia and the IAEA “fully agreed on the route and schedule of the Agency’s international mission to the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant.”

“We managed to eliminate all difficult problems related to the organization and holding of such a complex event in the current conditions. However, at the last moment, the ‘red light’ was turned on by the Department of Safety and Security of the UN Secretariat,” the Russian ministry has said.

At this point, Russia believes that the Ukrainian authorities took advantage of the suspension of the mission to “intensify their provocations and the shelling of the nuclear power plant.”

The Zaporiyia facility was the target of an attack last week that severed part of the plant’s electrical connections and for which Russia and Ukraine have accused each other. The Russian administration has confirmed that the damaged reactor units have been repaired and the plant is operating normally.

Ukrainian authorities warned earlier Tuesday that the consequences of a hypothetical nuclear catastrophe in Zaporiyia would be up to ten times greater than those experienced by the Chernobyl accident.

In early March, the Russian army seized the facilities of the Zaporiyia nuclear power plant, one of the largest in Europe, which in the early stages of the war was already the scene of intense clashes.