On Friday, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), confirmed that two representatives of the organisation will stay at the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) after the mission is over.

Grossi recalled that on Thursday, he headed a mission that involved 15 experts of the organisation; they spent several hours at the ZNPP.

“Six of our experts stay there. They will continue the work that started yesterday. And after that, as I said in Kyiv after the visit to Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), we established a permanent presence on the site – this time with the participation of two experts who will continue to work,” Grossi said at a press conference at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna

Grossi also noted that the ZNPP “has a unique situation where the Ukrainian plant is controlled by Russian occupation forces,” and added that next week, he would submit a report on the situation to the IAEA executive board next week.

At the end of the press conference, Rafael Grossi said that on Tuesday, 6 September, he is to report to the UN Security Council on the results of the mission.

The situation at the ZNPP has been in the spotlight since early August, when the Russian military started shelling the plant. Russia has rejected calls for demilitarisation of the nuclear plant, under the pretext of “protecting it” from provocations, and is now blaming Ukraine for the attacks.

On the morning of 1 September, the IAEA mission set off from the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia and headed for the nuclear power plant in the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar, despite reports of intense shelling in the area. After that, Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that the Association’s team will maintain presence at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).