The IAEA has finally reached a dangerous war/atomic place in Ukraine. It is worth noting that the specialists could not immediately get to the nuclear facility — they were stopped by the Russian military for several hours. All the reasons for the incident are not disclosed, but there are several official data.
"On the eve of the visit of the IAEA mission, the occupiers resorted to new provocations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Today, September 1, 2022, at 4:57, due to another mortar shelling by the Russian occupation forces of the site of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, emergency protection was activated, and the working 5th power unit was activated," the Ukrainian power generation company Energoatom reported today.
The head of the commission also stated that his team was aware of the intensification of military activity along the route.
In the afternoon, International Atomic Energy Agency experts arrived at the station. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an evening address to the people that during the visit of the commission, only the Russian military and media of the aggressor country were present there. It is noted that the nuclear facility was supposed to receive foreign media, but they were not allowed. Russian propaganda channels justified such a ban as "stepping on each other's feet" and "swearing in front of the commission members".
"When we met with Mr. Grossi and members of the mission in Kyiv, we agreed that journalists from Ukrainian and international media would accompany the mission. Independent journalists. To let the world see the truth. U saw what is happening. Unfortunately, this has not been done. Although promised. Unfortunately, the occupiers did not let the journalists in, but they did organize mass media of their propagandists. Unfortunately, IAEA representatives failed to protect independent media representatives. We hope that the mission will still draw objective conclusions from the circumstances on the station," said the head of Ukraine.
Several Ukrainian media also reported that the Russian occupiers led the commission along a certain route and showed a letter allegedly written by the facility employees regarding a cease-fire from Ukraine. The media refer to a conversation with one of the employees of the Zaporizhzhia NPP.
Grossi was taciturn also. After 2 hours, a part of the team left the station. The head of the agency said that during this time, he saw enough and was able to gather the necessary information. In doing so, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency left 5 experts at the nuclear facility. They must unload the equipment and begin work on analyzing the nuclear situation.
The experts plan to finish the work by September 3. Will they have enough data and independence to recognize the lies and stop Putin's blackmail?
