Russian missiles fired from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

The Russian military has been deploying missile launchers at the (southern) site of the Russian-controlled Zaporijjia nuclear power plant since early March, thanks to which it is specifically targeting the Nikopol region, Energoatom’s boss said on Friday. Ukrainian operator.

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“The Russian aggressors have installed missile launchers on the territory of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and will strike from there on the Nikipol district,” Petro Kotin, Energoatom head, told Ukrainian channel United News TV after an interview on Telegram.

“The situation (at the factory) is very tense and the tension is increasing day by day. “The aggressors are bringing their machines there, including missile systems, which they have already attacked across the Dnipro River and in the Nikopol region,” he said.

According to him, 500 Russian soldiers are still at the site of the plant. He assured them that they were “controlling the site”.

“Heavy equipment (tanks, armored vehicles), invaders and trucks loaded with weapons and explosives are parked at the site of the power plant”, Mr. Godin promised. Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He said the IAEA was “playing political games swinging between Russia and Ukraine”. “The IAEA has a large number of staff from Russia,” he added, citing a figure of around 100, adding that “even the first deputy to IAEA Director General Raffaele Croci is from Russia.”

“Perhaps that determines their + reserved status,” he said.

According to the IAEA website, Mr. Croci has six assistants, including Russian Mikhail Sudakov, who was appointed in 2015. The organization claims to employ 2,500 people from more than 100 countries.

On Thursday Mr. Croci, according to a press release, stressed the “importance” of the visit to the IAEA plant “to carry out essential safety, security and security measures for the world’s largest nuclear power plant. ‘Ukraine”.

The agency has been unable to visit since the February 24 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials oppose such a visit, arguing that it would legitimize Russian aggression in the eyes of the international community, Energoatom argued several weeks ago.

The base is occupied by Russian forces, but Ukrainian personnel continue to operate it, the report said, citing an “extremely difficult” situation due to “constant pressure on personnel.”

Mr. Grossi reiterated his “growing fears” about the conditions these workers find themselves in and the “impact of such conditions on the safety and security of the plant.”

In 2021, the plant provided 20% of Ukraine’s annual electricity production and 47% of that produced by the Ukrainian nuclear fleet.