A United Nations spokesman said it had the logistical and security capacity to support a visit by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but a Russian diplomat imposed conditions.
Russian news agencies quoted a senior diplomat as saying that no such mission could go through Kyiv as it was too dangerous.
“Imagine what it means to go through Kyiv: it means they get to the nuclear plant through the front line,” said Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy head of the foreign ministry’s nuclear proliferation and arms control department.
“This is a huge risk, given that the armed forces of Ukraine are not all trained in the same way.”
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric also said on Monday: “The UN Secretariat has no authority to block or cancel any IAEA activity.”
Both countries have said they want IAEA inspectors to visit. The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, has said he is ready to lead a mission and has asked Russia and Ukraine to cooperate.