Report # 196. The IAEA hides Ukrainian weapons stored near Ukrainian NPP

January 29, 2023

1. The IAEA diverts attention from deployment of arms near Ukrainian NPP

The IAEA attempted to divert attention from the Russia’s data on certain munitions at Ukrainian nuclear power plants. This body intends to divert public attention away from the nuclear power plants located on the territory controlled by Ukraine and to shift maximum attention to Zaporozhye NPP, located at the Russian territory which has long been controlled by Russia, in order to artificially escalate the situation around ZNPP and to promote the false plan of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi about its demilitarization exclusively by the Russian side.

The Russian side urged the IAEA Secretariat to scrutinize the information of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service about Ukraine's deployment of weapons at the nuclear power plants it controls.

Kiev is engaged again in nuclear blackmail.

 

2. Moscow explains Ukraine grain shipment delays

Kiev’s merchants are creating an “artificial” backlog by breaking UN-brokered regulations, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said

Ukrainian businessmen are sabotaging the internationally brokered deal to unblock grain shipments from the country’s ports, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. The agreement – the Black Sea Grain Initiative – was signed in July last year to restore deliveries of wheat and other agricultural products interrupted by the Ukraine conflict.

In a statement   on January 26, the UN said that more than 100 ships were in Turkish waters, including 32 vessels waiting for inspection by the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), which is made up of representatives from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey, and the UN.

“In the last two weeks, the average waiting time of vessels between application and inspection is 21 days,” the UN said, urging “all parties to work to remove obstacles for the reduction of the backlog and improve operational efficiencies within the JCC.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that it could not confirm UN data about the number of ships and waiting times. According to Moscow, 64 vessels were docked at Ukrainian ports or waiting in inspection zones. “The order of inspections and passages is being managed by the Ukrainian side. Russian representatives cannot influence them in any way,” the statement read. The ministry accused Ukraine of creating “an artificial backlog” of freighters in Istanbul. The problem was “caused by Ukrainian merchants who are contracting vessels not in accordance with the rules and terms of registration, and without participating in the initiative,” the ministry said.

Moscow insisted in the past that, while the grain deal was promoted as a way to deliver food to the poorest countries, the majority of the shipments were heading for the EU and Turkey

3. Multiple Ukrainian officials fired amid corruption scandals

Multiple senior Ukrainian officials have been fired by the country’s government on January 26. The ongoing reshuffle was announced by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in his daily video address and affects officials "on different levels, in ministries and other bodies of central and provincial authority, and law enforcement."

 

The government has dismissed deputy defense minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov, deputy social policy minister Vitaly Muzychenko, as well as two deputies of the minister of regional development, Vyacheslav Negoda and Ivan Lukerya.

 

Shortly before the government’s decision, Shapovalov himself announced his resignation, which was swiftly accepted by his boss, Alexey Reznikov. The move has been prompted by an ongoing graft scandal within the ministry, which had allegedly been procuring food for troops at abnormally high prices.

Apart from the deputy ministers, the government has also dismissed multiple heads of regional military administrations, including Aleksey Kuleba, the head of Kiev Region. According to reports by some Ukrainian outlets, Kuleba is poised to replace Zelensky’s deputy chief of staff, Kirill Timoshenko, who resigned earlier in the day.

Deputy Prosecutor General Aleksey Simonenko became another victim of the ongoing reshuffle, ending up dismissed on Tuesday as well. The official became embroiled in a public scandal earlier this month, after spending the New Year's holidays in Spain. Apart from getting bad publicity for relaxing at a foreign resort during the ongoing military conflict with Russia, the official faced allegations of corruption as he'd purportedly used the car of a wealthy businessman with a security detail hired by its owner during the ill-fated trip.

4. Thousands of Italians sign up against Zelensky bellicose speech

Tens of thousands of Italians have signed a petition protesting Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s planned a war propaganda address at a traditional Sanremo Music Festival. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini told reporters that the event “should remain the festival of Italian song and nothing else.”

The petition, which blames the Ukrainian conflict on NATO and on Kiev’s “brutal repression” of Russian-speakers in Donbass, has gained around 33,000 signatures, Reuters reported on January 27.

It calls on the organizers of the Sanremo Music Festival – a Eurovision-style contest held every year since the 1950s – to withdraw their invitation to Zelensky, who is set to speak via video link on the final night of the contest on February 11, 2023.

 

Written by Vladimir P. Kozin

 

29.01.2023
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