Wednesday 7 December 2022

Putting ZNPP under IAEA’s control impossible — Rosenergroatom

Putting ZNPP under IAEA’s control impossible — Rosenergroatom

Putting ZNPP under IAEA’s control impossible — Rosenergroatom


Zaporozhye NPP
©Sergei Malgavko/TASS






Putting the Zaporozhye NPP under the control of the IAEA will be impossible, because that organization does not have the authority to manage nuclear power plants, Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the CEO of the Rosenergoatom concern, said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel on Tuesday.







"The idea of putting the power plant under the control of the IAEA and, in fact, under the control of Ukraine, raises a legitimate question: how can the power plant be placed under the control of the IAEA? Such a procedure is not described anywhere: either in the IAEA Charter or any other international regulatory documents. This is impossible in principle," Karchaa said, while commenting on statements by Ukrainian politicians that the ZNPP should be placed under the control of Kiev and the IAEA.


Karchaa explained that the IAEA did not have the mandate to manage nuclear power plants.


"The IAEA has many mandates, it is an organization in charge of nuclear safety, and not of operating nuclear power plants. There are no such provisions," he pointed out.



Situation around ZNPP



On December 2, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told the international conference Mediterranean Dialogues in Rome that an agreement on establishing a security zone around the ZNPP could be reached soon. Earlier, the head of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, said that the safety model discussed with Grossi required a stop to any shelling of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.







On November 17, the IAEA adopted a new resolution on the ZNPP to call on Russia to immediately relinquish its "baseless claims" of ownership of this nuclear power plant. Russia and China voted against the resolution, while India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, South Africa, Kenya and Namibia abstained.


The Russian Permanent Mission in Vienna said the IAEA’s resolution had gone beyond the agency's mandate.The 6-gigawatt Zaporozhye NPP - the largest nuclear power plant in Europe - is located in the city of Energodar. In March 2022, the facility was put under the control of Russian forces. Since then, the Ukrainian army has systematically shelled both the residential areas of Energodar and the territory of the nuclear plant, using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems.



Blasts heard in southern Ukraine’s Odessa Region — TV



Blasts were heard in southern Ukraine’s Odessa Region on Tuesday night, the country’s state-run Freedom television reported.


According to Ukrainian media, explosions were also reported in the Sinelkovsky District of the Dnepropetrovsk Region.


An air raid alert was issued in Ukraine’s regions of Kiev and Cherkassy in the early hours of Wednesday, according to the country’s official air raid alert service.







No warning was issued for the Ukrainian capital itself.


Earlier, air raid alert was issued in Ukraine’s regions of Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava and Kirovograd, as well as in the Kiev-controlled areas of the Zaporozhye Region.


Shortly after midnight Moscow time, air raid sirens also sounded in the eastern Ukrainian Kharkov Region.


Ukrainian media reported on Tuesday that explosions rocked the city of Dnepr and its outskirts. Also, air raid warning was issued for Odessa and Nikolayev, but later lifted.







Vladimir Rogov, who heads the "We are Together with Russia" movement, said explosions were also heard in the Kiev-controlled city of Zaporozhye late on Tuesday



Power outages to continue in Ukraine at least till March — energy company CEO



Blackouts in Ukraine will be practiced at least till March, Sergey Kovalenko, director general of YASNO electricity supply company, said on Tuesday.


"There are many questions when we finally drop outage schedules and ensure 100% electricity supplies. At the end of March, under the basic scenario, which will be quite good for us, if we survive the winter and early spring with stabilization schedules," Ukraine’s TSN ndews agency quoted him as saying.


Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said on December 6 that power shortages in Ukraine’s grids amounted to 19% and the practice of blackouts will be continued.


According to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, the most difficult situation with electricity supplies is in seven Ukrainian regions, namely Vinnitsa, Kiev, Zhitomir, Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, Khmelnitsky, and Cherkassy regions.


An air raid warning was issued across entire Ukraine on Monday. Explosions and power outages were later reported from several cities and regions.

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