Kyiv won't allow IAEA to be used to legitimize occupation - Foreign Ministry
Russia, by staging provocations and blackmailing with a complete blocking of the IAEA mission, is trying to force the organization to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and send international experts to Zaporizhia NPP through the temporarily occupied territories, said spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Heorhiy Tykhy in a commentary on Russia's latest disruption of the IAEA rotation at Zaporizhia NPP.
"Today, February 12, Russia once again deliberately disrupted the rotation of IAEA experts at Zaporizhia NPP. The Kremlin is acting according to the usual scheme of blackmail, threats and provocations. This time, the occupiers used armed attack aircraft with white flags, stationed in the zone where the line between the territories controlled by Ukraine and the temporarily occupied zone, to disrupt the rotation. This is where the IAEA representatives were supposed to transfer," the Foreign Ministry said.
It is noted that by staging such provocations, Russia is trying to force the IAEA to violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and send international experts to Zaporizhia NPP through the temporarily occupied territories.
"At the same time, Moscow is blackmailing the agency by completely blocking the mission's work. Russian pressure on the IAEA is unacceptable, and we demand that the international community stand up for the agency's defense from Russian blackmail," the commentary says.
It is noted that the scenarios for the failure of rotations are similar each time.
"First, the Russian side does not agree on the point and time of rotation for a long time, then gives vague signals about its alleged readiness to guarantee safe passage, but an hour before the start of the rotation, it opens fire or begins military action in this zone. After that, Russian attack aircraft appear with white flags and IAEA flags, and Moscow declares that "everything is ready" for the mission. Such actions are not repeated for the first time, but the security risks become higher each time," the representative of the Foreign Ministry states.
Tykhy notes, over the three years of occupation, Russia "has brought Zaporizhia NPP to degradation, turning the largest nuclear power plant in Europe into a military base. This is part of a broader strategy of nuclear threats to the Russian Federation and its use of energy as a weapon. The presence of the IAEA prevents Russia from implementing this plan, so it systematically puts pressure on the agency, tries to undermine its authority and create conditions in which independent oversight will become impossible."
"The Kremlin's attempts to force the IAEA to violate Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity will not succeed. Ukraine will not allow Russia to use the agency to legitimize the occupation and will not allow the IAEA's independence to be undermined. We call on the international community to firmly support the IAEA so that Russia will finally realize that its tactics of blackmail and threats will not work," the representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry emphasized.