KYIV: A team of United Nations experts arrived at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant complex on Thursday to assess the risk of a radiation disaster after being delayed several hours by shelling near the site, while Moscow claimed it had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to seize the plant.
Both sides accused each other of trying to sabotage the visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in south-central Ukraine, which is controlled by Russian forces but operated by Ukrainian staff.
Conditions at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, have been unraveling for weeks, with Moscow and Kyiv trading blame for shelling in the vicinity and fuelling fears of a radiation disaster.
The chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the mission was aware of “increased military activity in the area” but was pressing ahead with its plan to visit the facility and meet the staff. “Having come so far, we are not stopping,” Grossi said. The mission arrived in Zaporizhzhia, 55 kilometers (34 miles) from the plant, on Wednesday and Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it was scheduled to visit the facility on Thursday.
“It’s a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident,” Grossi told reporters on Wednesday. –Agencies
