Ukraine continues to cooperate with the IAEA regarding the demilitarization of the Kuleba nuclear power plant
The Ukrainian government is cooperating with the UN nuclear agency, the IAEA, on the creation of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on December 8 after a meeting with his Slovak counterpart.
“Ukraine is moving step by step in full understanding with the IAEA to create a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia NPP,” Kuleba said in Kyiv.
According to him, Ukraine is in close contact with MAGATE General Director Rafael Grossi, who is trying to reach an agreement that would protect the station and its adjacent territory from hostilities.
Kuleba added that it is extremely difficult to guarantee the safety of Ukrainian nuclear power plants “without stopping Russian missile attacks on the territory of Ukraine.”
Earlier this week, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova questioned the prospects for an agreement on the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
“There is no exit of Zaporizhzhya NPP from Russian control or transfer of control over it, which a “third party” cannot talk about. The station is located on the territory of Russia (in the Russian-occupied city of Energodar, Zaporizhia region – ed.) and is fully controlled by Russia. We proceed from the fact that only we are able to ensure the physical and nuclear safety of the ZNPP,” said Zakharova.
Russia seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on March 4. Since then, the ZNPP has repeatedly come under fire, for which Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other. In early December, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced progress in negotiations creation of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.