The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned the IAEA's decision to withdraw staff from the Zaporizhzhia NPP via occupied territories of Ukraine and sent a note of protest to the agency's leadership.
This is stated in a statement on the department's website.
From hints to direct threats: the chronology of Putin's nuclear blackmailNuclear threats have been part of Russia's tactics since the beginning of the full-scale war. The timeline of the blackmail is presented in the infographic.A rotation of observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency at the Zaporizhzhia NPP occurred through occupied territories of Ukraine under the escort of Russian military personnel. The Foreign Ministry sent a note of protest to the IAEA leadership, condemning the violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and warning against the repetition of similar actions in the future.
“We emphasize that the activities of international organizations on the territory of Ukraine, especially in the context of an aggressive war, must be carried out exclusively in accordance with Ukrainian legislation, international law norms, and UN principles,” the statement reads.
The ministry believes that Russia is deliberately creating artificial obstacles for the activities of international organizations in Ukraine, forcing them to violate Ukrainian legislation. The situation at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has become a particular example of such blackmail. Russia effectively forced IAEA employees to remain at the plant without rotation for 80 days, using them as a tool for political pressure on the international community.
Ukraine has repeatedly offered a safe and legal route for rotation through controlled territory. However, Moscow denied the IAEA security guarantees under these conditions, compelling the agency to agree to Russian terms.
“We consider the actions of the IAEA not as a rotation of experts at the ZNPP, but as a humanitarian evacuation under conditions that threaten the lives and health of the agency's personnel,” the statement notes.
Recall that on March 1, it became known that the IAEA conducted its first rotation of experts at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant without coordination with Ukraine. The replacement of inspectors took place under the control of the Russian military.
Earlier, it was reported that on February 16, the Russians deliberately disrupted the rotation of IAEA experts at the Zaporizhzhia NPP for the third consecutive time.