Saporischschja nuclear power plant: Exchange of observers for nuclear power plant in Ukraine is delayed

Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of preventing the rotation of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Saporischschja nuclear power plant occupied by Russian troops. “The Kremlin acts according to the usual scheme of extortion, threats and provocations,” wrote the spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Horhij Tychyj.

He accused the Russian side of deliberately delaying the approval for the place and the time of the front line for the nuclear observers for a long time. The aim of the Kremlin is to force the IAEA employees to travel from Russia to the nuclear facility in the southeast of Ukraine.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Again accused Kyiv “provocations”. The rotation, which was initially planned for February 5, was therefore postponed to February 12th. The exchange of the observer team was prevented by a deteriorated security situation due to Ukrainian drone attacks and mortar fire. Evidence of this was not presented.

The IAEA has not yet commented on the events. The Saporischschja nuclear power plant has been under Russian control since March 2022. All six reactors were shut down for security reasons. A team of IAEA experts monitors the condition and security situation around the power plant. The observers are regularly exchanged and usually travel to the area controlled by Kiev via the Russian-Ukrainian front line. Ukraine has been fighting against a Russian invasion for almost three years.