Russia to facilitate IAEA visit to Zaporozhye NPP: FM
Kiev is blocking an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission from visiting the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Enerhodar as per the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, on Tuesday, that Russia is willing to render assistance to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in order to grant its mission access to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP).
"We hope that under current conditions the UN Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres] will come to realize his full scope of responsibility and will not be hindering the IAEA mission by using either his subordinate department of the Secretariat or other links in the UN mechanism," the statement read.
"On our behalf, we are ready to provide the maximum assistance in settlement of all organizational issues," as per the statement.
The Foreign Ministry recalled that earlier this month, an IAEA mission to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant was canceled at the last minute by the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS).
The Russian side and the IAEA administration agreed on the schedule and route of the visit on August 3, and the planned mission was made up of international experts led by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.
Read more: Russia considering Ukraine shelling of Zaporozhye "act of terrorism"
"Using a very close interaction with the agency, we have managed to settle all difficult issues regarding the organization of such a complicated event under the current circumstances," the statement added.
The statement further detailed that "the trip was disrupted," highlighting that authorities in Kiev used it to step up their provocations and bombardments of the nuclear station.
The Ukrainian military shelled the Zaporozhye NPP on August 7, targeting the spent nuclear fuel repository. At the time, Kiev regime launched a 220mm Uragan rocket with a cluster munition.
In March, Russian forces took full control of the NPP; the Kherson region and most of the Zaporozhye region in Ukraine are now controlled by Russian military forces and local military-civilian administrations that have been formed there.
On July 12, two Ukrainian drones attacked a building close to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (NPP), according to a spokesperson for the military-civilian administration in Enerhodar.
According to the military-civilian administration at Nova Kakhovka, the Ukrainian strike carried out on the city was done using multiple rocket launchers HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) supplied by the United States.
Read more: Russia rejects claims it uses Zaporozhye NPP as a military base