SIMFEROPOL 

27- Jan.-2023

 

      The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report about powerful explosions in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is not true and is a provocation, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration's main council, told Sputnik on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the IAEA issued a statement saying that the agency's experts stationed at the plant have reported powerful explosions in the area of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, "indicating military activities in the vicinity of the site located on the frontline of the ongoing conflict." According to the statement, the experts have been reporting such incidents to HQ in Vienna almost daily in recent days and weeks.

"This information does not correspond to reality. There were no explosions, especially powerful ones, near the nuclear power plant. Obviously, this is some kind of the IAEA's cunning game or ploy, aimed at provocation or some steps to discredit the situation in the region," Rogov said.

The official said the agency aims to question the ability of the Russian military to guarantee safety and protect the NPP from Ukraine's shelling.
"One gets the impression that the IAEA is carrying out the political will of the Kyiv regime and their masters, who are concerned about the successful offensive actions of the Russian army on the Zaporizhzhia sections of the front line, so they are trying to slow it down in every way, including by spreading disinformation," Rogov said.

Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Rosenergoatom, a subsidiary of Russian state-run nuclear energy agency Rosatom, has told Sputnik that the IAEA's report is aimed at discrediting Russia on the issue of nuclear security and at justifying Ukraine's shelling of the plant.

"Here they [experts] say that they heard powerful explosions. At the same time, they never say where these explosions come from. At this point, they have atrophy of both hearing and vision. And everything that is not clear ... is interpreted against the Russian Federation," Karchaa said.

"This is yet another attempt to deliver a rehearsal strike against Russia as a state that is supposedly unable to ensure the nuclear safety of the plant while at the same time drawing attention to themselves and demonstrating that they are doing something very serious and important."
Karchaa noted the IAEA staff deliberately does not say where the shelling of the plant comes from to blame Russia.

He said that Russia respects the work of the IAEA and Director General Rafael Grossi personally, adding that Moscow has been open to negotiations and cooperation with the agency from the very beginning of the Ukraine conflict and still is. However, he said, Russia's "respectfulness and openness are ultimately interpreted as our weakness."

Located on the left bank of the Dnepr River, the ZNPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe by the number of units and output. It went under the control of Russian forces in early March and has since been attacked repeatedly, raising international concerns over a possible nuclear accident. The IAEA has repeatedly stated the need to create a safety zone around the ZNPP.