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According to the pro-Kremlin media, experts with the International Atomic Energy Agency have allegedly praised the Russian army for defending the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from Ukrainian bombing. In reality, there is no report or statement by IAEA experts expressing this point of view anywhere, the source cited being, in fact, the pro-Russian separatist leader Yevhen Balytskyi.NEWS: “The members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission appreciated the role of the Russian army in protecting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the governor of the State Military Administration of the Zaporizhzhia Region, Yevhen Balytskyi, wrote on his Telegram channel.
The IAEA praised the way the Russian military provides security. There are 13 people at the plant in charge of monitoring. For us it is a guarantee that the plant will not be bombed again. In such a case, the documenting will take place at the level of a European structure”, Balytskyi said.
Earlier, an IAEA mission arrived at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The visit was prompted by the regular bombing of the nuclear power plant by the Ukrainian side. The State Duma of the Russian Federation asked the IAEA to have Ukraine stop bombing the plant, according to Dni.ru. The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, stated that he was able to see the “key elements”, RT writes.”
NARRATIVE: The IAEA mission praised the Russian military for defending the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant from Ukrainian bombing.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: In reality, there is no official statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency highlighting the role of the Russian military, that of allegedly “protecting the nuclear plant from bombing by the Ukrainian side”. This would mean recognizing the legitimacy of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which is beyond the IAEA's purview.
The information carried by the Russian media is based on a statement by the separatist leader Yevhen Balytskyi, the self-proclaimed governor of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) considers Balytskyi a collaborator of Russia, who after February 24 initiated the formation of civilian detachments with the aim of persecuting Ukrainians who have spoken out against the Russian authorities in the past Yevhen Balytskyi. was a member of the Party of Regions headed by the pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych and the Opposition Platform, banned on the territory of Ukraine during the martial law period.
The Russian press is just quoting Balytskyi, without providing links to other sources, rehashing classic propaganda narratives about Russia saving the Zaporizhzhia plant, which is “systematically bombed by the Ukrainian forces”.
At the time when the news was published on URA.RU, the International Atomic Energy Agency had not made public any official report on the situation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. In other words, it’s just a false narrative created by the Russian media based on some statements made by separatist leaders.
The majority of the IAEA delegation left the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on September 5, as planned, after several days of essential safety-related work. Two experts remained as part of the permanent presence at the plant , according to the IAEA.
It should be noted that the IAEA mission went to Zaporizhzhia at Kyiv’s, not Moscow’s request. The Ukrainian government requested that IAEA technicians conduct a un nuclear engineering audit of the Zaporizhzhia plant, not just inspection and oversight , as they have done so far.
Veridica has already debunked a number of false narratives regarding the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. In August, the Russian press wrote that at the behest of the US, Kyiv would cause a nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia ,following another false narrative, according to which an explosion would be caused to hide the traces of American biological weapons laboratories.
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