٠٠:٠٢:٣٤Mandatory credit: Rosatom
Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should not 'be afraid of telling the truth' and name those responsible for a reported drone attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP), in Vladivostok on Wednesday.
"Our positions continue to diverge in the lack of assessment of the perpetrators, in determining the causes and authors of those threats, the results of which can generally be seen with the naked eye. The IAEA continues to request additional information in order to clearly identify the source of these threats. We believe that we need to go further, we should not be afraid of telling the truth, to determine where it comes from, who delivers munitions, drones to strike the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," he said.
Likhachev stressed that the IAEA and Rosatom agreed in assessing the causes of the cooling tower fire at the ZNPP, claiming that it could inflict 'irreparable damage' to the nuclear facility.
"First and foremost, the assessments [coincide] regarding the causes of the cooling tower fire. I would like to emphasise once again that the strike that was made on the cooling tower caused the fire, and it was in the area of critical responsibility. It could have caused irreparable damage, including to the water supply of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," he said.
Likhachev also noted that the situation around the Zaporozhye and Kursk NPPs was 'not getting any easier'.
On Wednesday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited the ZNPP for the fifth time since 2022 and inspected the damaged cooling systems.
On August 11, Governor of the Zaporozhye region Yevgeny Balitsky reported that ZNPP’s cooling tower caught fire during a UAV attack on Energodar. According to media reports citing the ZNPP communications director Yevgeniya Yashina, no one was injured in the attack and the cooling tower that caught fire is located at a distance from the power units.
ZNPP Head Chernichuk later reported that while the cooling tower was completely burned out, the supporting structures had not been damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russia for the fire at the ZNPP, adding that "only Ukrainian control over the Zaporozhye plant can guarantee a return to normality and complete safety."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow would 'insist that the IAEA names the perpetrator of this attack', adding that "further silencing of this fact only condones Kiev’s sense of impunity."
In turn, Grossi appealed to stop the attacks against the ZNPP, calling them 'reckless'.
Since July 2022, Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the nuclear facility, after Russia took control of the plant in March of the same year. The IAEA has maintained a presence at Zaporozhye NPP since September 2022 to monitor safety at the plant.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
'We should not be afraid of telling truth' - Rosatom's Likhachev calls on IAEA to name those behind Zaporozhye NPP attacks
Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should not 'be afraid of telling the truth' and name those responsible for a reported drone attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP), in Vladivostok on Wednesday.
"Our positions continue to diverge in the lack of assessment of the perpetrators, in determining the causes and authors of those threats, the results of which can generally be seen with the naked eye. The IAEA continues to request additional information in order to clearly identify the source of these threats. We believe that we need to go further, we should not be afraid of telling the truth, to determine where it comes from, who delivers munitions, drones to strike the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," he said.
Likhachev stressed that the IAEA and Rosatom agreed in assessing the causes of the cooling tower fire at the ZNPP, claiming that it could inflict 'irreparable damage' to the nuclear facility.
"First and foremost, the assessments [coincide] regarding the causes of the cooling tower fire. I would like to emphasise once again that the strike that was made on the cooling tower caused the fire, and it was in the area of critical responsibility. It could have caused irreparable damage, including to the water supply of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," he said.
Likhachev also noted that the situation around the Zaporozhye and Kursk NPPs was 'not getting any easier'.
On Wednesday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited the ZNPP for the fifth time since 2022 and inspected the damaged cooling systems.
On August 11, Governor of the Zaporozhye region Yevgeny Balitsky reported that ZNPP’s cooling tower caught fire during a UAV attack on Energodar. According to media reports citing the ZNPP communications director Yevgeniya Yashina, no one was injured in the attack and the cooling tower that caught fire is located at a distance from the power units.
ZNPP Head Chernichuk later reported that while the cooling tower was completely burned out, the supporting structures had not been damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russia for the fire at the ZNPP, adding that "only Ukrainian control over the Zaporozhye plant can guarantee a return to normality and complete safety."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow would 'insist that the IAEA names the perpetrator of this attack', adding that "further silencing of this fact only condones Kiev’s sense of impunity."
In turn, Grossi appealed to stop the attacks against the ZNPP, calling them 'reckless'.
Since July 2022, Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the nuclear facility, after Russia took control of the plant in March of the same year. The IAEA has maintained a presence at Zaporozhye NPP since September 2022 to monitor safety at the plant.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Mandatory credit: Rosatom
Rosatom Director General Alexei Likhachev said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should not 'be afraid of telling the truth' and name those responsible for a reported drone attack on the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP), in Vladivostok on Wednesday.
"Our positions continue to diverge in the lack of assessment of the perpetrators, in determining the causes and authors of those threats, the results of which can generally be seen with the naked eye. The IAEA continues to request additional information in order to clearly identify the source of these threats. We believe that we need to go further, we should not be afraid of telling the truth, to determine where it comes from, who delivers munitions, drones to strike the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," he said.
Likhachev stressed that the IAEA and Rosatom agreed in assessing the causes of the cooling tower fire at the ZNPP, claiming that it could inflict 'irreparable damage' to the nuclear facility.
"First and foremost, the assessments [coincide] regarding the causes of the cooling tower fire. I would like to emphasise once again that the strike that was made on the cooling tower caused the fire, and it was in the area of critical responsibility. It could have caused irreparable damage, including to the water supply of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant," he said.
Likhachev also noted that the situation around the Zaporozhye and Kursk NPPs was 'not getting any easier'.
On Wednesday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited the ZNPP for the fifth time since 2022 and inspected the damaged cooling systems.
On August 11, Governor of the Zaporozhye region Yevgeny Balitsky reported that ZNPP’s cooling tower caught fire during a UAV attack on Energodar. According to media reports citing the ZNPP communications director Yevgeniya Yashina, no one was injured in the attack and the cooling tower that caught fire is located at a distance from the power units.
ZNPP Head Chernichuk later reported that while the cooling tower was completely burned out, the supporting structures had not been damaged.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Russia for the fire at the ZNPP, adding that "only Ukrainian control over the Zaporozhye plant can guarantee a return to normality and complete safety."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow would 'insist that the IAEA names the perpetrator of this attack', adding that "further silencing of this fact only condones Kiev’s sense of impunity."
In turn, Grossi appealed to stop the attacks against the ZNPP, calling them 'reckless'.
Since July 2022, Moscow and Kiev have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the nuclear facility, after Russia took control of the plant in March of the same year. The IAEA has maintained a presence at Zaporozhye NPP since September 2022 to monitor safety at the plant.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.