IAEA postpones rotation of mission to Zaporizhzhia plant.

5/2/2025 17:26

The International Atomic Energy Agency has postponed the rotation of its mission to the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant due to a lack of security guarantees from Russia, Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.



"This is not the first time the Kremlin has used blackmail as a tool to intimidate international experts and undermine their independence," a ministry spokesman said in a statement.



"We will not allow Russia to undermine the Agency's independence and impartiality in order to achieve its criminal goals."



Russia captured Europe's largest nuclear power plant shortly after invading Ukraine in February 2022. The agency's staff has been deployed to the plant since September of that year.



IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said he would visit Russia later this week to discuss the situation in Ukraine and at the Zaporizhzhia plant.



"It's essential that I, in the discharge of my obligations, keep channels of communication constantly," Grossi told a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday.