Ulyanov: Russia has never deployed heavy weapons at the NPP
Russian heavy weapons have never been deployed at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZAES), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) can verify this. This was announced on October 28 by the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov.
"Sometimes there are rough edges in terms of the admission of inspectors to certain objects of the station that they want to inspect. But it is quite obvious that there is nothing prohibited at the NPP. From the very beginning, the Russian side has not deployed heavy weapons there, and they are not there now. Inspectors have the opportunity to make sure of this," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.
Ulyanov clarified that the inspection of the station by the IAEA staff should take place in safety, which is extremely difficult to ensure with regular shelling. To access the requested objects, it is necessary to create suitable conditions.
"True, it is not entirely clear why they are so eager to get on the roofs of nuclear reactors, but nevertheless an inspection has already been organized on three roofs, where they were able to make sure that there is nothing reprehensible: there are no tanks, no artillery, no multiple rocket launchers," the permanent representative added.
Earlier, on October 17, Konstantin Vorontsov, Deputy Director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said that regular attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to attack the NPP could not be implemented without the support of Western countries. According to him, Russia is making every possible effort to ensure safety at the NPP. He recalled that it was Russia that took measures to guarantee the protection of the IAEA experts during their visits to the power plant since September 1, 2022.
The protection of the NPP almost daily neutralizes unmanned aerial vehicles launched by the APU, Vorontsov added.
On October 12, Izvestia correspondent Mary Badunts said that the marines of the Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea Fleet) of Russia are stopping attempts by Ukrainian militants to land near the NPP. It was clarified that the enemy has never managed to get close enough to the Russian positions, which are well fortified. In addition, the coast is littered with mines. The nuclear power plant and its surroundings are protected by the Marines of the 810th Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet.
Meanwhile, on October 9, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, admitted that the special forces of the GUR of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine tried to attack and capture the NPP three times, but Russian forces repelled the attacks.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Budanov's confession about the strikes on the NPP should be a "cold shower for the UN."
In addition, on October 4, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Kiev does not stop trying to destabilize the situation in the area of the Zaporozhye NPP and its satellite city of Energodar, so Moscow calls on the IAEA to record cases of Ukrainian attacks on the station.
The Zaporozhye NPP is located in Energodar and came under the control of Russia following the results of the referendum on the reunification of the Zaporozhye region with the Russian Federation in September 2022. Since the beginning of the same month, the nuclear power plant has been under the supervision of employees of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
