Alexander Volga, the head of the Enerhodar civil-military administration, told TASS yesterday that the expectation was that Rosatom would take over the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP). “Frankly speaking, we would like [for this to happen]. A [rapid] transfer from the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company of Ukraine towards Russia … under control of Rosatom will naturally cause a good reaction which will be crucial. Essentially, it has already happened because a Rosatom commission is constantly present at the power plant. And the countdown of transferring [the plant] under the auspices of Rosatom began already in summer,” he said.
Volga said that there had already been multiple meetings at the plant with Russian representatives. He added that IAEA representatives who visited the nuclear facility “are working directly with Rosatom’s structure and resolve issues together. They jointly conduct all the monitoring and work on the premises of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. I think that it will lead to a positive result once the entire inspection is objectively completed and the entire functionality of the plant is assessed,” he explained.
Zaporizhzhia regional official Vladimir Rogov also confirmed information that some IAEA experts may stay at the plant on a permanent basis. “Discussions that they may stay are really going on. Personally, I don’t see any obstacles for them to stay, to work,” he said. Both the Ukrainian Energoatom and Rogov were quoted today saying that four of the six IAEA members left the plant today with two remaining behind as observers.
The situation at the nuclear plant was reportedly calm yesterday. “The situation [in Enerhodar] is calm, in fact, today is one of the few relatively calm days.... There was no shelling, no incoming attacks, nothing flew into the [Zaporizhzhia] nuclear power plant either,” Rogov told Komsomolskaya Pravda radio. The Russian Defense Ministry reported this morning, however, that an attempt to attack the plant yesterday by drones was foiled by electronic warfare means while two artillery attacks on Enerhodar were recorded overnight.
