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UN inspectors arrive at Ukraine nuclear plant amid fighting
![UN inspectors arrive at Ukraine nuclear plant amid fighting]()
As the experts made their way through the war zone toward the complex, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling the area and trying to derail the visit. The heavy shelling delayed the team’s progress toward the plant. UN inspectors arrive at Ukraine nuclear plant amid fighting
As the experts made their way through the war zone toward the complex, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling the area and trying to derail the visit. The heavy shelling delayed the team’s progress toward the plant.
A U.N. inspection team arrived at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Thursday on a mission to safeguard it from catastrophe, reaching the site amid fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces that prompted the shutdown of one reactor and underscored the urgency of the task.
The visit from the 14-member expert delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency came after months of negotiations to get inside Europe’s biggest nuclear plant. Arriving in a convoy of SUVs and vans, the inspectors were led by IAEA director Rafael Grossi.
As the experts made their way through the war zone toward the complex, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling the area and trying to derail the visit. The heavy shelling delayed the team’s progress toward the plant.
Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear power company, said Russian mortar shelling had led to the shutdown of one of its reactors by its emergency protection system and had damaged a backup power supply line used for in-house needs. One of the plant’s reactors that wasn’t operating was switched to diesel generators, Energoatom said.
“There has been increased military activity, including this morning until very recently,” Grossi said during the journey, adding that after being briefed by the Ukrainian military he decided to keep moving despite the risks. “Weighing the pros and cons and having come so far, we are not stopping.”
Grossi, who personally negotiated with Ukrainian authorities to allow the team’s passage, noted earlier that the risks were “very, very high” in the so-called gray zone between Ukrainian and Russian positions, but “we consider that we have the minimum conditions to move.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow expects “impartiality” from the team.
“We are taking all the necessary measures to ensure that the plant is secure, that it functions safely and that the mission accomplishes all of its plans there,” he said.
The Zaporizhzhia plant has been occupied by Russian forces but run by Ukrainian engineers since the early days of the 6-month-old war. Ukraine alleges Russia is using the plant as a shield, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly firing on the area.
