Russian missiles were launched from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

Russia’s military has deployed missile launchers at the site of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (south) since early March, thanks to which it will hit the Nikopol area in particular, Energotam’s boss said on Friday. Ukrainian operator.

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“The Russian aggressors have installed missile firing systems on the territory of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and are attacking the Nikipol district from there,” Energotam chairman Petro Kotin said after an interview on Telegram. Broadcast on the Ukrainian channel United News.

“The situation (at the plant) is very tense and the tension is increasing day by day. The invaders are bringing their machines there, including missile systems they have already invaded across the Dnipro River and into the territory of Nikopol,” 80 km southwest of Zaporizhia, he said.

According to him, up to 500 Russian soldiers are still at the site of the plant. They will “control the site,” he assured.

“Invaders and trucks loaded with heavy equipment (tanks, armored vehicles), weapons and explosives are stationed at the site of the power plant”, assured Mr Kotin, adding that there was not “enough” pressure to leave them and especially internationally criticized. Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He said the IAEA “plays political games, oscillates between Russia and Ukraine”. “The IAEA has a lot of employees from Russia,” he added, citing about 100 people, adding that “the first deputy to IAEA Director General Raffaele Grassi is also from Russia.”

“Perhaps that will determine their +reserved position,” he said.

According to the IAEA website, Mr. Grassi has six aides, including Russian Mikhail Chudakov, who was appointed in 2015. The company claims to have 2,500 employees from more than 100 countries.

Mr. Grassi insisted on the “importance” of “being able to visit the IAEA plant to carry out the necessary safety, security and protection activities for the world’s largest nuclear power plant,” according to a press release Thursday. “Ukraine”.

The agency has not been able to visit since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Ukrainian officials opposed such a visit, believing it would legitimize the Russian occupation of the site in the eyes of the international community, Energoatom argued several weeks ago.

The site was occupied by Russian forces, but Ukrainian personnel continued to man it, the statement said, citing an “extremely difficult” situation due to “continuous pressure on personnel.”

Mr. Grossi reiterated his “growing fears” about the conditions these employees 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 generated by the Ukrainian nuclear fleet.