Russia Claims The UN Refuses To Visit The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant In Ukraine, Even Though The IAEA Wants To Carry Out A Review

JAKARTA - Russia said the United Nations rejected its offer to arrange a visit to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, days after the head of the international atomic agency said the facility was "totally out of control".

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi this week urged Moscow and Kyiv, to allow experts to visit Europe's largest nuclear power plant, stabilize the situation to avoid a nuclear accident.

It is known that Russian troops seized the factory in early March, shortly after their invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.

Moscow said it had drawn up a proposal to facilitate a visit to the nuclear power plant, but the United Nations rejected the offer.

"We are ready to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency in organizing an international mission led by the Director-General to assess the situation of the largest nuclear power plant in this region of Europe," said Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy director of Russia's Non-proliferation and Arms Control Department, according to state media. , reported The National News August 4.

"We reached agreement on the schedule of the visit, the highly complex logistics and security arrangements. However, just days before the arrival of the proposed IAEA delegation, the UN Secretariat refused to approve this visit," he continued.

There has been no confirmation from the United Nations that it rejects the proposal.

"Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated (at the plant). What is at stake is very serious and very serious and dangerous," Grossi told the AP on Tuesday.

But he said there were significant challenges in visiting the site, which he described as being in a "paradoxical situation" because it is owned and operated by Ukraine within the country's territory but is 'in Russian hands'.

"Never before has a war been fought amid the facilities of a large nuclear power programme", writes @rafaelmgrossi, Director General @IAEAorg, on International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day. #Ukraine➡️ https://t.co/rfMHOKK0rS pic.twitter.com/bBAUuVLbz8

— UN Chronicle (@_UNChronicle) April 26, 2022

The IAEA had faulty and uneven contact with employees at the plant, Grossi said.

"Going there is a very, very complicated thing because it requires the understanding and cooperation of a number of actors. Of course, this is a Ukrainian facility so it requires Ukraine to agree to it, feel comfortable with it and help me carry out the mission," Grossi said.

"At the same time, the factory is occupied by Russia and I have to talk to everyone and especially those who control the place in fulfilling my technical duties," he said.

The supply chain of onsite equipment and parts has been cut, "so we're not sure the factory is getting everything it needs," he continued. He further said, there are many nuclear materials that need to be examined.

"When you put this together, you have a catalog of things that should never happen at any nuclear facility," Grossi said.

"And this is why I insisted from day one, that we should be able to go out there to do this safety and security evaluation, to make repairs and help out like we did at Chernobyl."

Russia's occupation of Zaporizhzhia has sparked fears that the largest of Ukraine's 15 nuclear reactors could be damaged, triggering other emergencies such as the 1986 Chernobyl accident, the world's worst nuclear disaster, which occurred about 110 kilometers north of Kyiv.

It is known that Russian troops occupied the heavily contaminated Chernobyl site soon after the invasion began, but handed control back to Ukraine in late March.