In the coming days, the work of the IAEA mission on the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which is regularly subjected to a huge threat by Russian occupiers. On August 29, the delegation left for Ukraine.

Should we expect anything from the IAEA visit

According to media reports, the mission at ZNPP will last 4 days – from August 31 to September 3. The fact that it does happen is very important, but the short presence of experts at the station is unlikely to have a significant impact. This Channel 24 was told by political scientist Oleksandr Antonyuk.

According to him, the maximum that the visit of an IAEA delegation to the Zaporizhzhya NPP can give is to restrain the Russian troops so that they do not foolishly blow themselves up from the middle of the nuclear power plant. Everything else, including shelling the station from the outside, the mission has no effect. We can only hope that their authority will be able to play to our advantage and appease the occupiers at least a little.

The political scientist explained that the best option would be a permanent mission of the IAEA, which would monitor how the Russian occupiers behave on the territory of the nuclear power plant. During the occupation, nothing more could be demanded of them.

In addition, the IAEA representatives could ensure the return of the Zaporizhzhya NPP under the control of Ukraine with minimal damage even when Energodar is fired by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

He noted that, probably, first Ukrainian troops will bypass Energodar during the de-occupation. And then, perhaps, they will take him into the ring. This will provide a prerequisite for the creation of a negotiating group, where the Russians will be asked to make a “gesture of good will” so that they leave the territory of the station and the city without damaging the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. As Antonyuk said, this was once done at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Russians can arrange provocations

And now it is not necessary to hope for a significant positive result. The political scientist emphasized that the IAEA cannot influence the shelling of the territory of the station by the Russian military. Moreover, there are several risks that during the mission the occupiers will carry out provocations – shelling the station, blaming Ukraine for this.

It is also possible that due to torture and pressure on several hundred nuclear power plant workers, they will try to create the right picture and will openly ask the IAEA to assist and recommend that the Russians stay at the nuclear power plant, because it is Ukraine that is shelling the plant, which is very dangerous.

The UN found it difficult to say who is shelling the ZNPP

• Russia is constantly lying that the territory of the Zaporizhzhya NPP is being shelled by the Ukrainian military and has already convened the UN Security Council twice on this occasion.
• It would seem that everyone should understand by now who is the real war criminal who allows himself nuclear blackmail and endangers the security of all of Europe. However, the UN seems to have doubted this.
• Thus, the representative of the UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric openly stated that they “have no assessment of the shelling of the ZNPP”. That is, he publicly suggested that Ukraine could be behind the shelling.