Zaporozhye Region's Official Confirms IAEA Director General's Visit to ZNPP on March 29

SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik) - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi is scheduled to visit the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) on March 29, Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye regional administration, told Sputnik on Monday.

"The visit is scheduled for March 29 and will be timed to another rotation of the IAEA's experts group that is deployed to the station. On our part, the delegation's security will be fully ensured. The region's residents expect Grossi to tell the truth during the visit, that the power station is being shelled by the Ukrainian army," Rogov said.

On March 23, Grossi said that IAEA was not reviewing the possibility of establishing a demilitarized zone around ZNPP anymore, and would only accept a mutual ceasefire. On March 25, the IAEA said Grossi's next visit to ZNPP could take place the following week.

Located on the left bank of the Dnepr River, the ZNPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe by number of units and energy output. It came under Russia's control in early March 2022 and has since been repeatedly shelled, raising international concerns over a possible nuclear accident. An international mission led by Grossi visited the plant from August 31 to September 5. IAEA observers have since been staying at the plant on a rotational basis. Following the visit by the mission, the IAEA published a report in which it confirmed multiple attacks on the ZNPP.

On October 5, 2022, the ZNPP was placed under the control of Russian institutions by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin. On December 8, Moscow sent proposals to the IAEA with specific parameters for creating a security zone around ZNPP.