• Українською
  • By not allowing IAEA experts to ZNPP units, russians can hide threats of incident, says German Galushchenko
    Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, posted 15 January 2024 19:14

    The russians are trying to hide the real situation at the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, so they do not allow the IAEA mission experts to enter the reactor halls of the plant’s power units.

    This was stated by Minister of Energy of Ukraine German Galushchenko on the air of the national telethon.

    The head of the Ministry of Energy reminded that this was not the first time that the occupiers prevented the inspectors from getting acquainted with the situation at the facility – the same situation occurred at the beginning of the year.

    “The answer is obvious: they are trying to hide the real state of affairs. We understand what is happening at the plant, and so do the IAEA inspectors. Our joint assessment of what is happening now is the degradation of equipment,” the Minister said.

    German Galushchenko stressed that the IAEA inspectors were restricted in their movements at the ZNPP and had access only to those premises designated by the russians.

    “The plant has not been generating power since September 2022. Given that no maintenance work is being carried out at the plant, there have been eight blackouts of the ZNPP due to shelling and line breaks, this all brings the risk of a major incident closer. And the issue is that everyone understands this – both our partners and the IAEA. And the fact that the russians are trying to hide the real situation means that there are indeed problems and these problems, unfortunately, can lead to an incident,” the Minister said.

    The head of the Ministry of Energy noted that the russians ignored the requirements of the IAEA General Conference resolution on the immediate de-occupation of the Ukrainian nuclear facility.

    “Therefore, the only way to force russia to fulfil its international obligations is to impose sanctions on the russian nuclear industry,” concluded German Galushchenko.