The mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the Zaporozhye NPP will make Russian provocations impossible. the Kremlin will temporarily postpone any plans to destabilize the situation at the site.
For Ukraine, the best scenario would be if the IAEA mission remained at the ZNPP until the territories around it were de-occupied. About this on Channel 24 Alexander Solontai, Director of Policy Programs at the Institute of Political Education.
Stability Factor
The expert noted that the IAEA mission is going to the Zaporozhye NPP after a global discussion, which Russia itself “warmed up on the topic of who is to blame for everything and whether there is a real nuclear threat.”
If the IAEA mission reaches the nuclear power plant, it will definitely stabilize the situation. While the mission is in, the Russians certainly have no plan to undermine it or do anything there that could lead to a nuclear explosion. The continued presence of the mission would be the best guarantee that the plant would remain operational or semi-operable, the analyst explained.
In his opinion, upon arrival at the facility, the mission will evaluate the work of the station and analyze the state of affairs.
“Why is the mission traveling with such difficulty and why are the” corridors “fired upon? Russia as a whole finds it difficult to perceive that it is already on its way and what is not opportunities to stop this. This mission will actually show and prove that the whole thing is only in Russia. Its result will be that all responsibility and what is happening there will lie solely with the Kremlin, Moscow and Putin,” Solontai believes.
According to him, for this reason, Putin will not have plans to “blow up something at a nuclear power plant” in the near future.
they work – they know that some drunken roly-poly can do something. It can really end in tragedy. All the necessary security measures are missing there – that's the problem,” he added.
What could be scenarios for the development of the situation at ZNPP: watch the video
Threats after the mission
Solontai is convinced that the threat of incidents at the ZNPP will decrease in the near future.
“In addition to the IAEA mission, there was Erdogan's visit to Ukraine. One of the real reasons why the Turkish president was in For Ukraine, this is the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, because in one of the scenarios, radiation will reach Turkey and Ankara. A lot of attention is riveted to the plant today, but it is a temporary method of containment,” the expert noted.
In his opinion, the long-term method of eliminating the danger regarding the Zaporizhzhya NPP should be the de-occupation of the territory around the plant.
“This must be done in order to dismiss the South in the future. On the way to Berdyansk, Melitopol, Genichesk, Skadovsk and Crimea, it's all the same Zaporozhye NPP needs to be fired. There is little time left before de-occupation. Because what will happen between the IAEA mission and up to this point is a big and dangerous issue,” the analyst emphasized.
According to him, in order to avoid any accidents in the medium term, it is desirable that the IAEA mission, having arrived at the station, stay there.
The IAEA, unfortunately, travels short term mission. To drop in, get information, come back, review it, and then the question of a long-term mission. If the IAEA is really responsible for nuclear safety, they must “deceive” the whole world. Come there and say that they are staying. It is useless to expect such a position from them,” Solontai concluded.
Risks for the IAEA mission: what is known
- On August 30, the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv before a mission to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Zelensky noted that due to the occupation of the Zaporozhye NPP by the Russian military, there are great risks of an explosion of a nuclear power plant and disruption of nuclear reactors.
- Zelensky noted that he expects strategic decisions from the IAEA mission. In particular, we are talking about the demilitarization of the ZNPP, the withdrawal of all Russian military and the liberation of the nuclear power plant. The President added that the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant should completely pass under the control of Ukraine, since “this is the only way to eliminate any risks associated with nuclear energy.”
- Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba noted that the Russians categorically ruled out the possibility of allowing the IAEA mission. The agreement that the mission is possible was reached only last week.
- The mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the ZNPP will begin on August 31 and will last until September 3.
- It became known on August 31 that the IAEA mission arrived in Zaporozhye .
