A United Nations Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection team has arrived at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine. The UN expert team went there amid shelling and fighting in the region.
According to the BBC, they will check the condition of the power plant, check whether the faucets are working properly, and talk to the workers there and look after their welfare.
The IAEA has been trying to get to Zaporizhia for months. The UN team finally left on Monday and their convoy arrived at the nuclear power plant on Thursday.
The largest nuclear power plant in Europe is occupied by Russian forces. However, the center is run by Ukrainian staff.
Ukrainian and Russian fighters are fighting fiercely around the power plant. The nuclear plant has become a major battleground in the six-month-long war in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for shelling near the center.
The shelling has created an extreme risk of radioactive fallout from the facility. IAEA Director General Grossi said in a tweet two days ago, “We must protect the safety of Ukraine and Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.”
Grossi then announced the dispatch of an expert team to the center. It is not known how long the inspection team will be able to stay at the Zaporozhye nuclear plant.
Zaporizhia has six nuclear reactors. Shelling last week temporarily cut the center’s two power supply lines from Ukraine’s power grid.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia was doing everything it could to ensure the safety of the UN inspection team’s visit to the Zaporizhia nuclear plant under its control.
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