Vladimir Rogov, head of the Russian General Council's Committee for Supporting Citizens Abroad, has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for allegedly obstructing a visit by Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Rogov stated that Grossi's planned visit to the facility had provoked a furious reaction from Zelensky. He claimed that Zelensky viewed the visit as a negative publicity stunt that would underscore the plant's status as Russian-controlled and located on Russian territory. According to Rogov, this resulted in orders to thwart the visit through threats and coercion.

He further asserted that such threats could only originate from what he described as Zelensky's irrational administration, which he accused of adopting nuclear terrorism as one of its defining characteristics.

Earlier today, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova announced that Ukraine had disrupted Grossi's visit scheduled for August 20 and 21. She highlighted Ukraine's refusal to guarantee Grossi's safety should he enter the plant from Russian-held areas, describing this as indicative of Kyiv's hostile intentions toward an international organization's leadership.

The Zaporizhzhia power station, situated on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, is Europe's largest nuclear facility. It features six reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts. The plant officially came under Russian control in October 2022 following a decree by President Vladimir Putin after the Zaporizhzhia region was annexed by Russia.

Source: Novosti