Kiev Disrupts Rotation Of IAEA Staff At Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant - Regional Authorities

The Kiev authorities have disrupted the rotation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, told Sputnik

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2023) The Kiev authorities have disrupted the rotation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) staff at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, told Sputnik.

The IAEA mission has been present at the ZNPP since September 2022. A total of seven IAEA staff rotations have taken place since then, the last one having been completed at the end of April.

"Initially, the rotation was supposed to take place on May 25, then, at the request of Kiev, it was postponed to the 26 and, as a result, was disrupted by the Ukrainian side," Rogov said.

The senior official specified that three IAEA inspectors were supposed to arrive at the ZNPP: from Argentina, Ireland and Morocco.

"On the eve of the (IAEA) mission's arrival, the regime of (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy gave the order to subject the city of Vasylivka, through which the usual route of the monitoring mission runs, to massive shelling from heavy weapons," Rogov told Sputnik.

Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nicolas Bideau told Sputnik on Thursday that the UN Security Council was planning to convene on May 30 to address the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Located on the left bank of the Dnipro River, the Zaporizhzhia NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe by number of units and energy output.

The ZNPP came under Russian control in early March 2022 during Russia's special military operation. It has come under Ukrainian shelling several times, raising international concerns over the possibility of a nuclear accident.