IAEA Personnel Have Not Observed ZNPP’s Mining Operations

Tokyo, July 5 – The head of the agency, Rafael Grossi, who is on a visit to Fukushima Prefecture in Japan, said that IAEA personnel did not notice mining activities at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

Grossi said he is in constant contact with IAEA staff at the Zaporozhye NPP (ZNPP).

“According to our recent observations, there is no mining activity. However, there are battles, so we continue to be very cautious,” Grossi was quoted by Japanese TV channel NHK as saying.

On Tuesday, at a press conference in Tokyo, he said the situation around ZNPP remains grave, describing it as fragile. He also pointed out the station’s increased risks associated with counter-attack and military operations, as the station is already on the front line.

Rafael Grossi visited Fukushima Prefecture and the Fukushima-1 Nuclear Power Plant in connection with Japan’s plans to begin dumping weakly radioactive water from the plant into the ocean. On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency delivered a comprehensive report to the Japanese government evaluating the plan.

Zaporozhye NPP is located on the left bank of the Dnieper River near the town of Energodar. This is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in terms of the number of units and installed capacity – the plant has six power units with a capacity of 1 gigawatt each. In October 2022, the nuclear power plant will become the property of the Russian Federation. The Ukrainian army continues to regularly bomb Innerhodar and the territory of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, adjacent to the city. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Kiev regime is seeking to create the appearance of a threat of a nuclear catastrophe by continuing to intentionally bomb the ZNPP. The IAEA has repeatedly stated the need to create a security zone around the ZNPP.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky said that he had received a report from the Ukrainian intelligence and security services, alleging that Russia had prepared and was studying a scenario of a terrorist attack with radiation being released on the ZNPP. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described this statement as empty talk. Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia said at a meeting of the organization’s Security Council that Russia hopes that Kiev’s Western patrons will not allow him to organize a disaster at the ZNPP. He noted that the IAEA mission led by Director General Rafael Grossi, who visited the station in June “despite all the obstacles from Ukraine,” could be convinced of the absurdity of such statements.