After months of expectation, the mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must go this Thursday, September 1 to the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, in the south-east of Ukraine, despite the bombardments in proximity. The institution wishes to establish a “permanent” presence there to avoid a possible catastrophe. At the same time, the Russian government authorized two Japanese firms to keep their shares in Sakhalin-2, an oil and gas project in the Russian Far East that Japan did not want to give up, despite participating in the sanctions against Moscow linked to the war. in Ukraine.
- IAEA expected at Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is maintaining visits to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian troops, in Ukraine, despite reports of bombings on the road, said its director general Rafael Grossi. “The Russians are carrying out artillery strikes on the route by which the IAEA mission must go to the central Zaporizhia” occupied by the Russians, accused the mayor of this city, Dmytro Orlov, on Telegram. He claims that the delegation could not “continue on its way” to the plant “for security reasons”.
But for Rafael Grossi, there is no question of being intimidated. “There was military activity, including this morning, a few minutes ago,” but “we are not stopping, we are moving,” he told reporters. And to add: “We will immediately begin the assessment of the security situation at the plant”. Among the objectives of this visit, that of “trying to establish a permanent presence of the agency”, announced the director general of the IAEA, a scenario not mentioned until then.
The agency’s team, made up of 14 people, arrived on Wednesday August 31 in Zaporijia, about 50 kilometers as the crow flies from the complex occupied since the beginning of March by the Russians and the subject of serious concern from the international community.
- Moscow accuses the Ukrainian army of having sent “saboteurs” near the plant
The Russian army accused Ukrainian troops on Thursday morning of having sent a team of “saboteurs” near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the day of the visit of a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA).
“Around 6 a.m. (local time), two groups of Ukrainian army saboteurs, up to sixty people, landed on board seven boats (…) three kilometers northeast of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, saying it had taken “steps to annihilate the enemy.”
- Moscow validates Japan’s participation in one of its oil and gas projects
A Russian government decree on Wednesday allowed Mitsubishi Corp to transfer its former 10% stake in Sakhalin-2 (an oil and gas project in Russia’s Far East) to a new entity created unilaterally by Moscow in July, the State confirmed on Thursday. AFP a spokesperson for the Japanese group. The day before, Moscow had made a similar decision for Mitsui & Co, which retains its former 12.5% share in the offshore project.
While participating in international sanctions against Moscow and reducing its energy imports from Russia, the Japanese government was not ready to abandon Sakhalin-2, crucial for the country’s supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The Russian green light to keep Japan in Sakhalin-2 is “extremely important for the stability of our country’s energy supplies”, Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno said Thursday during a regular press briefing. Nevertheless, risks persist on the Japanese stakes in Sakhalin-2, since any possible dispute should now be settled by a Russian court and probably without any possible recourse to international arbitration.
- The war in Ukraine at the heart of the Bayeux prize in October
Ukraine and Afghanistan will be at the heart of the Bayeux Prize for War Correspondents which will be held from October 3 to 9, the organizers announced on Wednesday. “The international jury will meet on October 7 and 8 around a selection of 51 reports, subjects which deal mainly with Ukraine, Afghanistan, Mozambique and Syria”, said Patrick Gomont, mayor DVD of Bayeux, city co-organizer of the prize with the department and the region.
The annual ceremony in memory of reporters killed in the line of duty will take place on 6 October. It will take place in the presence of the families and colleagues of Maks Levin, the Ukrainian photojournalist “executed” according to RSF by Russian soldiers in March, of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian-American journalist from Al Jazeera who was shot in the head in May and Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, the French reporter killed in May in Ukraine.