The Ukrainian delegation, headed by Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko, held a meeting with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency within the framework of the 67th session of the Agency's General Conference.
Minister of Energy expressed gratitude to Rafael Grossi for his efforts to resolve the situation surrounding the largest in Europe Zaporizhzhia NPP, occupied by the russians. Meanwhile, Minister noted that russia ignores any IAEA recommendations on de-occupation and disregards the presence of Agency representatives at the power plant site.
"russia keeps shelling the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, and it is crucial to develop a plan for how the international community, in particular through the efforts of the IAEA, will respond to the further actions of the terrorist state," Herman Halushchenko said.
Raphael Grossi thanked Minister for his informative speech at the General Conference and confirmed that the forthcoming winter would be challenging for Ukraine, but the IAEA would continue to comprehensively support and provide assistance to our country.
IAEA Director General reaffirmed that the Zaporizhzhia NPP de-occupation is a key issue for restoring safety at the nuclear facility. Grossi assured that after the de-occupation of the power plant, Ukraine could count on constant support from the IAEA until its return into operation and the start-up of all its power units.
Energoatom’s President Petro Kotin reminded: as long as invaders are at the power plant, there is no appropriate technical oversight there and the degradation of all the equipment takes place.
"Ukrainian nuclear power plants and installations should operate safely under the full sovereign control of Ukraine and the legitimate operator — Energoatom. Unfortunately, the current situation at the ZNPP is getting worse and worse, and in order to prevent an accident at the power plant, the russians must comply with the seven indispensable pillars of nuclear safety and security and leave the Ukrainian power plant," Petro Kotin said.
