10:31 28.11.2022

President of Energoatom: Occupiers probably preparing to leave ZNPP

3 min read
President of Energoatom: Occupiers probably preparing to leave ZNPP

President of National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom Petro Kotin has said that there is evidence that the Russian invaders may leave the territory of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Enerhodar, Zaporizhia region in the foreseeable future.

"Now in recent weeks, in fact, we are receiving information that there is evidence that they may be going to leave the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant," Kotin said during the national telethon on Sunday.

"Firstly, a lot of publications began to appear in the Russian media that the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant could be left, it could be transferred to the IAEA control. You know, there is a feeling that they are packing their bags and stealing everything they can find it there," he said.

At the same time, when asked whether it was possible to say that the occupation units were already leaving the plant, the president of Energoatom replied that it was too early to talk about this: "There is no such thing, but they are preparing."

Kotin stressed that the invaders continue to use the ZNPP as a military base. "They brought everything they could to the site: both military equipment and their personnel... They brought their trucks there, no one knows what is in these trucks, and most likely there are weapons and explosives. They also mine the territory of the plant, around the plant... There are military zones on the territory of the nuclear power plant, in which the personnel of the nuclear power plant are not allowed," he said.

According to the President of Energoatom, in Ukraine after the accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in 1986, a program was adopted to improve the safety of power units, it was funded by the European Commission, and now its implementation is coming to an end. "This is what fundamentally distinguishes our power unit from the Russian ones of the exact same project. This is why they cannot come to the Zaporizhia plant, bring their personnel and start operating it there. Because everything is different with us: we had other safety systems, we actually have different control systems for the power unit, something that they don't have at all," Kotin said.

All ZNPP personnel are currently prohibited from traveling to territory controlled by the Ukrainian government.

According to him, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi takes such a position that he only states the events that are violations, and does not say either about the reasons for this, or how to prevent it. "But he is also very actively working on creating a safety and security protection zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, and if he manages to do this in the end and withdraw the occupiers from the territory of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and create the safety and security protection zone there, then we, of course, will forgive him everything," Kotin said.

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