Moscow denies Ukraine’s claim that
Russia has been shelling the plant —
which is under Russian control

Dave DeCamp / AntiWar.com

(August 14, 2022) — Russia has called for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send inspectors to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), a facility that Russia has controlled since March.

“We believe that the IAEA should not delay the visit. It would be good if it is held in late August or early September, but not all things depend on us,” Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s envoy in Vienna, said on Saturday, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

In recent weeks, the ZNPP has come under frequent shelling, and Ukraine is blaming Russia for the attack even though the facility is under Russian control. Moscow denies the accusation and says Ukraine is attacking the plant. Ulyanov said that an IAEA inspection will show who is responsible for the shelling.

So far, IAEA officials haven’t blamed either Ukraine or Russia for the attacks on the plant. “The agency refrains from naming those responsible, partially due to the fact that none of its representatives is present at the station,” Ulyanov said. He added that a visit to the plant would give IAEA inspectors “a chance to see what is really happening there with their own eyes.”

On Sunday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Western countries of delaying an IAEA visit to the plant. She said Russia was “sparing no effort” to arrange an IAEA inspection while Ukraine and the West were “doing their utmost not to let it happen.”

Russia’s military has controlled the ZNPP since March, but the plant is still being run by Ukrainian operators, and it has been fully running throughout the war. While Ukraine is accusing Russia of firing on the plant, Kyiv is also accusing Russia of launching attacks from its grounds.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Ukraine would target Russian troops at the ZNPP. “Every Russian soldier who either shoots at the plant, or shoots using the plant as cover, must understand that he becomes a special target for our intelligence agents, for our special services, for our army,” he said.

Zelensky is using the crisis over the ZNPP to call for new sanctions on Russia. He said new sanctions should be implemented that would “necessarily block the Russian nuclear industry.”

The ZNPP is located on the southern shore of the Dnieper river in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, which is under Russian control. Ukraine controls territory on the other side of the river, and the area has seen recent shelling from both sides.

Why is the UN Blocking an
IAEA Inspection Visit to the ZNPP?

The remains of a British Brimstone missile allegedly fired at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

USSA News & RT News

MOSCOW (August 15, 2022) — Members of the UN are blocking a visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) so they can avoid confirming Kiev shelled the Russian-controlled facility, local official Vladimir Rogov told RT in an interview on Monday.

Rogov, a member of the Zaporozhye military-civil administration, insisted that the ZNPP is always prepared to welcome the atomic energy watchdog, which has repeatedly expressed a desire to visit the facility, but noted that the UN has “directly started to block the possibility of an IAEA inspection.” 

The official suggested that if the agency does visit the plant, it would be forced to conclude that it had been shelled by Kiev’s forces.

 “It is obvious, it’s all been documented, and not only that, it’s also well known who is being supplied with American guided missiles. Obviously, not Russia, but the Zelensky regime.”

The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant — the largest in Europe — has repeatedly come under attack over the past few weeks. While none of the reactors have so far been struck, the shelling has partially damaged a nearby thermal power plant as well as equipment used to cool the nuclear reactors.

Moscow has accused Ukraine of using rockets, artillery and drones to attack the ZNPP and has described Kiev’s actions as “nuclear terrorism” and holding the whole of Europe hostage.

Rogov stated that Western countries have “completely lost their instinct of self-preservation” in an economic, geopolitical and ecological sense, as a disaster at the ZNPP would spell trouble for European countries first and foremost.

“Nevertheless, we do not hear a single adequate statement, not a single voice of reason, either from Germany or from France,” he noted.

Kiev, meanwhile, has denied responsibility for shelling the plant and insists that it is Russia that has been targeting it in a plot to discredit Ukraine. The US State Department has taken Zelensky’s side and has called for a withdrawal of Russian forces from the area and the creation of a demilitarized zone around the plant.

While that solution has been supported by the UN and the EU, Rogov insists that the West should instead be working to establish a ceasefire there. Russia’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has pointed out that if Russian forces were to leave the power plant it would be vulnerable to action by Kiev.

“Those who propose the withdrawal of Russian troops should be aware of the consequences that this object will be left without protection and can be used by Kiev and nationalist groups for the most monstrous provocations,” said the Russian ambassador, stressing that Moscow does not use nuclear facilities for military purposes.

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