After opening a permanent mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency at the Pivdenno-Ukrainian NPP, such missions began their work at the Rivne NPP and in the Chernobyl NPP zone, said Rafael Grossi, director general of the agency.
“IAEA continues to expand its presence in Ukraine. Today I launched the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission in Chernobyl,” Grossi said on Twitter Wednesday.
He noted that agency specialists will remain at all Ukrainian nuclear power plants to provide vital nuclear safety assistance “during these difficult and challenging times.”
Earlier, the IAEA Director General announced the opening of a mission to the Rivne NPP.
For its part, the RNPP noted on Facebook on Wednesday that two IAEA nuclear safety and security experts remain at the RNPP site for a permanent mission.
“Their purpose will be to continuously monitor and control the nuclear and radiation safety of the power plant. The mission members will report on any threats that may be posed by military activities and will also keep in touch with the agency about the needs of the plant,” the report explains.
RAES Director General Pavel Kovtonyuk said he hopes IAEA’s permanent missions to nuclear power plant sites will not allow the aggressor country to disrupt the safety and physical protection of the power plants.
“The experts will also see the work of our personnel and equipment during probable attacks on the energy infrastructure. Our close liaison with the IAEA will emphasize the importance of security issues for nuclear power plants by international institutions and the UN,” Kovtonyuk commented, as quoted in the RAES report.
According to the head of Gosatomregulirovanie Oleg Korikov, cited in a report of RAEC, it is necessary to work out mechanisms of complete cessation of cooperation with Russia in the use of nuclear energy and mechanisms to limit the rights of Russia at the IAEA.
The RAEC specified that up to 12 experts of the agency would work at all Ukrainian nuclear power plants, which should become an important step in the work to assist Ukraine in the conditions of Russian aggression.
As it was reported, on 16 January, the IAEA mission started its work at the Pivdenno-Ukrainian nuclear power plant, and since September, the agency’s permanent mission has been working at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The decision to open an IAEA mission at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant was also announced.
