Putin commented on the IAEA report on the Zaporozhye NPP

VLADIVOSTOK, 7 Sep — PRIME. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he trusted the IAEA report on the situation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, but noted that there was pressure on the agency from the US and the EU, which made it difficult to say directly that the shelling of the power plant was coming from the Ukrainian side.

“Yes, I absolutely trust this report. The IAEA is a responsible international organization, and its leader is a very professional person. Of course, they are under pressure from the countries where they work, including the United States, European countries, and cannot directly say that shelling comes from Ukrainian territory. But these are obvious things,” he said, speaking at the plenary meeting of the WEF-2022.

Earlier, the IAEA mission headed by Director General Rafael Grossi arrived at the Zaporozhye NPP. The head of the Rosatom delegation and employees of the Zaporizhzhya NPP led the IAEA delegation through its territory and showed the sections of the station that had been damaged during the shelling of Ukrainian troops. As Mikhail Ulyanov, permanent representative of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna, told RIA Novosti, two IAEA employees will remain at the Zaporozhye NPP on a permanent basis.

On Tuesday, IAEA representatives published a report on the work of the delegation at the Zaporozhye NPP. The document recorded damage to a special unit for storing radioactive waste and fresh nuclear fuel. Agency officials called for an end to the shelling of the station and its environs, as this could damage critical equipment and release radioactive materials in an unrestricted manner. In connection with the security threat, it is proposed to create a nuclear safety zone around the nuclear power plant.

Russia accuses Ukrainian troops of systematic shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and regrets that the IAEA did not indicate the source of the fire in its report on the results of a trip to the plant.

The WEF takes place on September 5-8 on the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University on Russky Island in Vladivostok. RIA Novosti acts as the general media partner of the forum.