“The IAEA mission has arrived” at the plant, a spokesperson for the organization who is part of the team told AFP via WhatsApp. The mission of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived Thursday at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhya occupied by the Russian army. A high-risk mission, Ukraine accusing the Russian army of bombing the sector, while Moscow accuses kyiv of having sent a team of “saboteurs” there.
Information to remember:
- AEIA experts arrived in Zaporizhia
- A reactor of the plant stopped after new bombardments
- Macron advocates the continuation of dialogue with Russia
- Gazprom suspends gas deliveries “entirely” through the Nord Stream pipeline
IAEA stays at Zaporizhia power plant
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that members of the organization would “stay” at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which they inspected on Thursday. The inspection of the Zaporijjia plant by the IAEA, whose chief Rafael Grossi was present, was eagerly awaited, after weeks of bombardments which raised fears of a nuclear disaster. Russia, whose forces have occupied the plant since March, and Ukraine accuse each other of the strikes.
“We have achieved something very important today. And the most important thing is that the IAEA is staying here. Let the world know that the IAEA is staying in Zaporizhia,” Rafael Grossi said after the inspection, according to a video published by the Russian media Ria-Novosti. However, he did not specify how many people would stay, or for how long. On Wednesday, he said the IAEA would try to establish a “permanent presence” at the plant after the visit.
During the inspection, “we were able to gather a lot of information. I saw the main things that I needed to see,” Rafael Grossi told Russian media. “We have made an initial assessment. We have seen the dedicated work of the staff and the management. Despite very, very difficult circumstances, they continue to work with professionalism,” he added. According to the Russian news agency Interfax, four of the nine vehicles making up the convoy by which the IAEA had arrived Thursday afternoon at the plant left the scene in the early evening.
A reactor stopped after new bombardments
The two belligerents have accused each other for weeks of endangering the security of this nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe. One of the two reactors in operation has been stopped due to Russian bombing, the Ukrainian operator of the atomic power plants Energoatom announced Thursday that one of the six reactors continues to operate.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of carrying out artillery strikes on Energodar, the city where the Zaporijjia power plant is located, and on the road that the IAEA mission was to take to get there. For its part, the Russian army accused Ukrainian troops of having sent “two groups of saboteurs”.
The commandos reportedly “landed in seven boats (…) three kilometers northeast of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and attempted to take the plant,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. He specified that the Russian army had taken “measures to annihilate the enemy, in particular by making use of aviation”. The plant is located along the Dnieper River, the left bank of which is controlled in this sector by Russian troops. These statements were unverifiable from an independent source.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also accused the Ukrainian army of having carried out artillery fire on the “rendezvous point” of the IAEA mission near the nuclear power plant. An official of the Russian occupation administration in the Zaporizhia region, Vladimir Rogov, for his part accused Ukraine of having bombed Energodar, killing three civilians and wounding one.
Ukrainian counter-offensive continues in Kherson
On the ground, the Ukrainian army is continuing its counter-offensive in the south of the country, in particular around Kherson, one of the few major Ukrainian cities conquered by Russia. The Russian army, however, assured on Wednesday that it had repelled the Ukrainian offensives over the past two days, inflicting heavy losses on the Ukrainians. In a report released Thursday, the NGO Human Rights Watch said Russian forces have been forcibly transferring Ukrainian civilians, including those fleeing hostilities, to areas under their control since the start of the Russian invasion.
Macron advocates the continuation of dialogue with Russia
In Paris, Emmanuel Macron advocated the continuation of dialogue with Russia, believing that it was necessary “to assume that we can always continue to speak to everyone”, “especially those with whom we do not agree”. The French president is one of the few European leaders to have spoken with President Vladimir Putin after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, a strategy that has been criticized. But Emmanuel Macron at the same time estimated, during a speech before the French ambassadors at the Elysee Palace, that “the division of Europe is one of Russia’s war aims” in Ukraine.
Gazprom suspends “entirely” its supply via the Nord Stream gas pipeline
In another parallel war, that of gas, the Russian giant Gazprom declared on Wednesday that it had “entirely” suspended its supply from Europe via the Nord Stream gas pipeline due to maintenance work expected to last three days. As other European countries, notably Germany and France, work to reduce their dependence on Russian gas, Hungary announced on Wednesday an agreement with Gazprom to receive additional deliveries.
On the diplomatic field, the foreign ministers of the EU states agreed on Wednesday to suspend a 2007 agreement with Russia facilitating the reciprocal issuance of short-stay visas. “It’s a ridiculous decision that is part of a series of absurdities,” reacted the Kremlin on Thursday.