Ukraine has expressed its protest over the actions of the IAEA staff that violated the sovereignty of our country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasises that Moscow continues to impose illegal working conditions on international organisations in the occupied territories.
The situation at the Zaporizhzhya NPP is particularly illustrative. Russia actually forced the IAEA representatives to stay at the plant without rotation for 80 days – much longer than the stipulated time. The experts were kept in a high-risk area, deprived of freedom of movement and used as a tool to put pressure on the international community.
Ukraine has repeatedly offered a safe route for the rotation through government-controlled territory, but the Kremlin has systematically refused to guarantee security under these conditions. Russia has deliberately blocked the departure of experts, forcing the IAEA to act according to its rules.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry views this situation not as a planned rotation, but as a forced evacuation of experts in critical conditions. In response, Kyiv sent an official protest to the IAEA leadership and warned of the inadmissibility of such actions in the future. The issue of Russian blackmail will be brought up for consideration by the IAEA Board of Governors in the coming days.
Ukraine insists that the activities of international organisations on its territory must comply with Ukrainian legislation and international standards. Real monitoring at ZNPP will be possible only after Russia stops its nuclear blackmail and returns the plant to Ukrainian control.
Kyiv calls on international organisations to take a clear position and refuse the conditions imposed by the Kremlin in order to preserve their own authority and independence.
Earlier, Radio Liberty correspondent Rikard Jozwiak and Russia’s Rosatom reported on the rotation of IAEA observers at the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, which for the first time passed through the occupied territory without the consent of Ukraine.
On Friday, 28 February, the journalist wrote that he had heard that the IAEA would rotate its mission at the Zaporizhzhia NPP exclusively through the occupied territory of Ukraine – probably through Crimea.