By KYIV. Nov 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors have completed field checks at three locations in Ukraine at the request of the Ukrainian government and have not found any sign of undeclared nuclear activities and materials, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said on Thursday.
"Based on the evaluation of the results available to date and the information provided by Ukraine, the agency did not find any indications of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at the locations," the IAEA said in a release.
"Ukraine’s written requests for the IAEA to send teams of inspectors were issued after the Russian Federation made allegations about activities at the three locations – the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv, Eastern Mining and Processing Plant in Zhovti Vody, and Production Association Pivdenny Machine-Building Plant in Dnipro," the report says.
"Over the past few days, the inspectors were able to carry out all activities that the IAEA had planned to conduct and were given unfettered access to the locations. The inspectors also collected environmental samples for analysis at the IAEA’s safeguards laboratories and its network of analytical laboratories. Environmental sampling is a commonly used safeguards measure with ultrasensitive analytical techniques that can provide information about past and current activities related to the handling of nuclear materials," the agency said.
"Upon the request of the government of Ukraine, I immediately dispatched inspectors to the three locations to carry out their indispensable technical and independent role in verifying the facts on the ground. Within days, they went there and conducted their safeguards activities, in challenging circumstances during the current conflict in Ukraine," Director General Grossi said.
