A team of United Nations experts arrived at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power center on Thursday. But their arrival was delayed for several hours because of shelling nearby.
The visit from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) came after months of negotiations to get inside Europe’s biggest nuclear plant.
The nuclear plant is controlled by Russian forces but operated by Ukrainian workers. Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for repeated shelling near the plant. This has raised fears of a nuclear disaster like the one at Chernobyl in 1986.
Reuters reported that the 14-member IAEA team arrived in a large group of vehicles with a heavy presence of Russian soldiers nearby. The inspectors were led by IAEA director Rafael Grossi.
“There has been increased military activity, including this morning until very recently,” Grossi told the Associated Press on the way to Zaporizhzhia. He added that the group decided to keep moving although risks remained.
Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear power company, said Russian shelling had led to the shutdown of one of its reactors. The company said shelling had damaged a backup power supply line used for local needs.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia 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.
