On the way ! The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, announced on Monday August 29 that he was on his way to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, the target of intense strikes in recent weeks, raising fears of an accident. major. For several weeks, the Russian and Ukrainian armies have alternately accused each other of bombardments near the radioactive site, which has prompted the international community to be particularly worried and vigilant.
Before the director of the IAEA, the UN secretary general had also traveled to Ukrainian soil to discuss the case of Zaporijia. Several heads of state like Emmanuel Macron have been calling since the beginning of the summer for the site to be secured. The G7 said on Monday “deeply concerned” about the risk of a nuclear accident, and on Monday asked for the guarantee of “free” access for IAEA staff to this plant.
- The perilous mission of the IAEA is about to begin
“The day has come, the IAEA mission to Zaporizhia is now on its way. We must protect the security of Ukraine and the largest power plant in Europe,” Director General Rafael Grossi wrote on Twitter, specifying that the mission would arrive there “later this week”. It could be the “hardest task in the history” of the organization because of the fighting nearby, said Monday the head of Ukrainian diplomacy. “We are expecting clear statements from the mission on the facts of violation of all nuclear safety protocols”, however affirmed Dmytro Kouleba during a press conference with the Swedish Prime Minister.
The Zaporizhia plant, where six of the fifteen Ukrainian reactors are located and located near the front line in the south, has been besieged by Russian troops since early March, shortly after the launch of the invasion on February 24. The respective troops claim that the enemy is increasing the bombardments near the town of Energodar, on the Dnieper River, and thus putting the site in danger. Before it consented to the operation, Ukraine feared that such a visit would legitimize the Russian occupation of the site.
Faced with the “dangerous” situation, President Volodymyr Zelensky had urged the UN nuclear police on Friday to send a team as soon as possible. If the six reactors of 1000 megawatts each were reconnected during the weekend after a shutdown between Thursday and Friday, the situation is worrying in the eyes of many experts. “We emphasize that any attempt by Russia to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian electricity grid would be unacceptable,” the G7 Directors Group on Non-Proliferation warned in a statement, stressing that the nuclear plant should “not be used for military activities or the storage of military equipment”.
- Joint UN statement on nuclear non-proliferation rejected by Russia
In parallel with the nuclear safety mission in Zaporijia, another partition is being played out at the United Nations headquarters. Russia opposes the adoption of a joint declaration at the UN on the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT). The text aims to reinforce certain precautions, particularly in the event of an armed conflict near a nuclear power plant, which recalls the case of Zaporijia.
The United States denounced Sunday the “cynical obstruction” of Russia which issues its right of veto. “After weeks of intense and productive negotiations, Russia has decided alone to block consensus on the final document,” said US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel at the end of the four-week review conference at the UN.
Russia criticized “certain shamelessly political paragraphs” of the text. On Saturday, Austria, a neutral and non-nuclear country, denounced the too slow nuclear disarmament of the five powers holding the bomb. “Contrary to the disarmament commitments enshrined in the NPT, the United States, France, China, the United Kingdom and Russia are increasing or perfecting their arsenals”, notes the Austrian government in a press release denouncing the absence of “will perceptible to implement previously unfulfilled contractual obligations”.
- The thorny question of Russian tourists arises in the EU
Should Russian tourists be banned from European soil? Claimed by Ukraine, the provision divides Europe. The subject will be on the menu of discussions at the meeting of European foreign ministers which opens on Tuesday in Prague. The latter will study a total suspension of the 2007 agreement between Moscow and the EU providing for facilities for issuing short-stay visas to Russian nationals, a European diplomat told AFP on Monday.
The Czech Republic, which occupies the rotating presidency of the EU, hopes for an agreement of the Twenty-Seven to implement by October this suspension demanded by Finland, according to the same source. The country Finland has already decided to issue, from September 1, more than 100 visas per day out of the 1000 usually issued to Russian tourists. For Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin, “it is not fair that Russian citizens can enter Europe, the Schengen area, do tourism (…) while Russia kills people in Ukraine”. The procedure for obtaining a visa is also made delicate in Poland and in the Baltic countries.
The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, felt that “banning all Russians from entering Europe is not a good idea”. A position shared by Germany. Chancellor Olaf Scholz insists in favor of the protection of dissidents to Vladimir Putin’s regime. The facilities for obtaining short visas were withdrawn from Russian residents from the start of the war. “The Russians massively support the war, applaud the strikes of missiles on Ukrainian cities and the murders of Ukrainians. So let Russian tourists enjoy Russia,” defends Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba.
- Russia steps up attacks amid rumors of major Ukrainian counter-offensive, UK intelligence says
Russia has likely increased the intensity of its attacks in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region over the past five days, British intelligence said on Sunday. Pro-Russian separatists have most likely advanced towards the center of the village of Pisky, near Donetsk airport, but Russian forces have made little territorial gains overall, according to the latest report from the UK Ministry of Defence.