In Ukraine, the IAEA inspection mission headed by Rafaelo Grossi is due to arrive at the Zaporizhia plant on Thursday. “It is a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident and to preserve this important nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
But at the plant, the employees don’t expect much from the arrival of the International Atomic Energy Agency. BFMTV came into contact with a man who has worked in this structure at the news center since the beginning of the war. At the risk of his life, he agreed to answer our questions by message, being able to listen to the telephone conversations, according to him.
“We wait [l’arrivée de la mission] impatiently and we pray”, explains this plant employee who “is also worried about the representatives” of the IAEA, “but I am afraid that nothing will change. I know what the Russians are capable of,” he says.
Since the plant’s capture on March 4, it has seen Russian soldiers stockpile numerous weapons. “There is a lot of military equipment, outside and inside the buildings,” he says.
“There are even some stored along the roads used by employees. Which makes us human shields, protections against drones, ”she laments.
An incident at the plant “would be a disaster”
For this man, the risk of an incident is higher. “The greatest danger is the bombing of the power plant,” he sums up, while Moscow and Kyiv have been accusing each other of strikes in the Zaporizhia area for several weeks.
“Weapons are not very accurate… There is also a risk that stored military equipment will explode. That would be a disaster,” he explains.
Inside, the employees work with fear in their stomachs. The intimidations are numerous, because the Russians do not allow any employee of the plant to leave the territory. Since the beginning of the Russian occupation, in March 2022, the IAEA has been concerned about this situation.
The Russians work at the plant.
And in six months, nothing has really changed for the employees of the plant, in daily contact with the Russian army. “They do a complete inspection, they organize searches in the workshops, they deliver everything,” says our witness.
“They are looking for phones with cameras and SIM cards, which are prohibited at the plant.”
But for several weeks, Moscow has been bringing in new employees, he said. “There are Rosatom personnel who are evacuated with every bombardment. I have been working here for many years. He had never seen so many unknown faces, ”says our witness.
“I don’t know half the people now. But it’s impossible to say precisely how many employees Russia has brought,” he concludes.
Source: BFM TV
