A mission of the international atomic energy agency has opened its presence at the Pivdenno-Ukrainian nuclear power plant, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reports.
The flag of the IAEA, in the presence of its head Rafael Grossi, was hoisted on the territory of the plant on Monday.
Grossi said the mission was badly needed because of the military situation in Ukraine.
“I am happy to be here. After Zaporizhzhia NPP, we are expanding our presence to other nuclear power plants in Ukraine. Today is the first step, and we will continue to work in this direction,” Grossi said after the flag-raising ceremony.
For his part, Energy Minister Herman Galushchenko welcomed the start of the IAEA mission, saying that it was important because of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the threats that the aggressor poses by terrorizing Ukrainians even on New Year’s Eve.
As reported, the IAEA announced the deployment of its permanent missions to three nuclear power plants in Ukrainian-controlled territory – in addition to the PAEC, the Khmelnytsky and Rivne nuclear power plants, and the Chernobyl nuclear power plant area. The IAEA permanent mission has been working for several months at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest in Europe.
