Russia Calls Emergency IAEA Board Meeting Over Attacks on Zaporozhye NPP, Envoy Reveals
© AFP 2023 OLGA MALTSEVA
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Located on the left bank of the Dnipro River, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is the largest nuclear facility in Europe. It came under Russia's control in early 2022 and has since been repeatedly shelled, raising safety concerns. IAEA experts have been monitoring the situation on site since fall 2022.
Russia has requested an extraordinary meeting of the 35-nation Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over Ukraine's recent attacks on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations, said on Monday.
"Pursuant to Rule 11(b) of the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the IAEA Board of Governors Russia requested an extraordinary session of the Board with regard to the recent attacks and provocations of the armed forces of Ukraine against the ZNPP," he said on X.
Last Sunday, Ukraine's kamikaze drones attacked the territory of the ZNPP right after an inspection carried out by IAEA experts, the plant's press service said. The IAEA confirmed minor damage to the sixth power unit of the ZNPP, adding that nuclear safety had not been compromised. The attack also left three workers injured, with one of them sustaining serious injuries, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said.
On Monday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that the situation was "close" to a nuclear accident when commenting on the recent attack.
