International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi informed Monday in his statement on the situation in Ukraine that the agency’s inspectors have begun verification activities at two locations in Ukraine.
The activities were initiated following a written request from the Ukraine government to send teams of inspectors to the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv and the Vostochny Mining and Processing Plant in Dnipropetrovsk Region after Russia initially singled out them when accusing Ukraine of preparing radioactive ‘dirty bombs’.
Moscow has accused Kyiv of using the sites to allegedly produce a ‘dirty bomb’ it plans to later detonate to frame Moscow and involve NATO forces in the conflict.
Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia said in a letter to the UN Security Council last week that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s regime directly ordered staff at these locations to create such a device and that plans were at their concluding stage.
Nebenzia also cautioned IAEA’s Grossi to be vigilant since, according to his claims, Ukraine has more than locations where a dirty bomb could be built.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also mentioned the two nuclear facilities, also adding that Kyiv was attempting to cover its tracks ahead of the IAEA’s visit.
IAEA noted in its release that both locations are under IAEA safeguards and have been visited regularly by its inspectors. In fact, one of the locations was inspected a month ago and inspectors found no undeclared nuclear activities or materials there.
The release further says that the purpose of the announced safeguards visits – which will be completed soon – is to detect any possible undeclared nuclear activities and materials related to Moscow’s allegations and added that Director General Grossi would later this week provide his initial conclusions about the activities at the two sites.