Occupants at ZNPP provide IAEA access with delay or not at all - report

According to Ukrinform, this is stated in the report of the IAEA Director General, Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine, published on the IAEA website.

To monitor compliance with the five concrete principles, the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia (ISAMZ) conducted regular walkthroughs of areas at ZNPP that are important for nuclear and physical safety. The ISAMZ team was generally able to conduct independent inspections at the site. But some areas of the plant, such as the roofs of reactor buildings and turbine halls, remained inaccessible to the ISAMZ team for a long time, the report says.

During the reporting period (from May 31 to August 31, 2023), the IAEA experts present at ZNPP were not granted access to the roofs of power units 1, 2, 5, and 6. The Russian occupation administration of ZNPP stated that representatives of the IAEA mission at the plant must notify one week in advance of all their intentions to visit a particular area of the nuclear power plant. But such a form of interaction does not allow for prompt observation and assessment in case of urgent need due to allegations or unforeseen events, such as the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP dam, the IAEA Director General said in his report.

According to the document, in several cases, the ISAMZ team was granted delayed or no access to certain areas at ZNPP that are important for nuclear and physical safety. This did not allow the ISAMZ team to promptly assess the situation in relation to compliance with the five specific principles, the report says.

As Ukrinform reported, Energy Minister German Galushchenko met with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, during which he stated that Ukraine needs the support of the international community in restoring the functioning of ZNPP after it is returned to the control of the legitimate Ukrainian operator. The presence of IAEA missions at Ukrainian NPPs plays a special role in this context.

During the meeting, the Minister of Energy of Ukraine emphasized that Russia ignores any IAEA recommendations on de-occupation of ZNPP and does not consider the presence of the IAEA's representatives at the plant. He also noted that due to the occupation, ZNPP has not been in operation for over a year.