Репост из: Russian MFA 🇷🇺
⚡️ Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's statement on the disruption of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s visit to the Zaporozhskaya Nuclear Power Plant and Energodar (August 18, 2026)
💬 We express our deep concern over the aggressive and malicious actions of the Kiev regime, which continues its provocations against the Zaporozhskaya Nuclear Power Plant (#ZNPP), practically on a daily basis attacking the plant and its personnel and creating a real threat of a nuclear disaster in the heart of Europe.
Another reckless step was Ukraine’s decision to disrupt the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s planned August 20-21 visit to the #ZNPP and the nuclear workers’ city of Energodar, which was to coincide with another rotation of IAEA Secretariat experts at the plant.
All the details had been worked out in advance by the IAEA Secretariat and the Russian Side. We provided the necessary security guarantees, which fully satisfied the Agency.
👉 However, Kiev cynically threatened the IAEA Director General, explicitly stating that it could not guarantee his safety if he travelled to the ZNPP via Russian territory.
We regard this as yet another act of self-exposure by the Kiev regime. It makes no secret of its criminal intentions toward the leadership of one of the world’s largest international organisations, effectively turning its head into a target.
Under such circumstances, Rafael Grossi was understandably forced to cancel his visit.
It is clear that, given the circumstances, the Agency has no choice but to finally acknowledge that the threats to the ZNPP originate precisely from Ukraine, as the Russian Side has been saying for several years.
Kiev has previously repeatedly disrupted rotations at the ZNPP, violated ceasefire arrangements established to enable repair work at energy infrastructure facilities directly affecting the plant’s safe operation, and even carried out strikes against vehicles transporting representatives of the IAEA Secretariat.
Kiev’s crimes continue unabated. On the morning of August 18, a strike targeted a public transport stop in Energodar. One person was killed and 15 were injured.
All this would be impossible without the constant political support that Western countries continue to provide to Zelensky and his gang, driven mad by a sense of impunity. This only encourages the Kiev regime to embark on ever more reckless ventures and create nuclear security threats that could have disastrous consequences for the entire world.
❗️ All those who continue to turn a blind eye to these actions by Ukraine, while supporting the Zelensky regime materially and politically, are complicit in its actions and share responsibility for the crimes it commits.
💬 We express our deep concern over the aggressive and malicious actions of the Kiev regime, which continues its provocations against the Zaporozhskaya Nuclear Power Plant (#ZNPP), practically on a daily basis attacking the plant and its personnel and creating a real threat of a nuclear disaster in the heart of Europe.
Another reckless step was Ukraine’s decision to disrupt the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s planned August 20-21 visit to the #ZNPP and the nuclear workers’ city of Energodar, which was to coincide with another rotation of IAEA Secretariat experts at the plant.
All the details had been worked out in advance by the IAEA Secretariat and the Russian Side. We provided the necessary security guarantees, which fully satisfied the Agency.
👉 However, Kiev cynically threatened the IAEA Director General, explicitly stating that it could not guarantee his safety if he travelled to the ZNPP via Russian territory.
We regard this as yet another act of self-exposure by the Kiev regime. It makes no secret of its criminal intentions toward the leadership of one of the world’s largest international organisations, effectively turning its head into a target.
Under such circumstances, Rafael Grossi was understandably forced to cancel his visit.
It is clear that, given the circumstances, the Agency has no choice but to finally acknowledge that the threats to the ZNPP originate precisely from Ukraine, as the Russian Side has been saying for several years.
Kiev has previously repeatedly disrupted rotations at the ZNPP, violated ceasefire arrangements established to enable repair work at energy infrastructure facilities directly affecting the plant’s safe operation, and even carried out strikes against vehicles transporting representatives of the IAEA Secretariat.
Kiev’s crimes continue unabated. On the morning of August 18, a strike targeted a public transport stop in Energodar. One person was killed and 15 were injured.
All this would be impossible without the constant political support that Western countries continue to provide to Zelensky and his gang, driven mad by a sense of impunity. This only encourages the Kiev regime to embark on ever more reckless ventures and create nuclear security threats that could have disastrous consequences for the entire world.
❗️ All those who continue to turn a blind eye to these actions by Ukraine, while supporting the Zelensky regime materially and politically, are complicit in its actions and share responsibility for the crimes it commits.