UN inspectors arrive at Ukraine nuclear plant amid fighting
Source: AP
By YESICA FISCH and DEREK GATOPOULOS
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — 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.
In this photo released by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Director General of nuclear watchdog, Rafael Mariano Grossi, second from left, speaks to unidentified authorities as the UN agency mission heads to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022. The IAEA mission has been delayed on the Ukrainian-controlled side of the frontline for some three hours. Director General Grossi has personally negotiated with Ukrainian military authorities to be able to proceed and he remains determined that this important mission reaches the ZNPP today, IAEA spokesman said.(International Atomic Energy Agency via AP)
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