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IAEA inspectors to visit Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of inspectors set off for Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Wednesday, saying their mission is to prevent a nuclear accident and to try and stabilise the situation after weeks of shelling nearby.

According to Reuters, the inspectors arrived in the nearby city of Zaporizhzhia, where they were likely to spend the night before visiting the plant on Thursday. The area is currently controlled by Russia.

IAEA mission arrives in Zaporizhzhia. Hope they will make it to the Nuclear Power Plant safe. pic.twitter.com/mWI5oqNtcP

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) August 31, 2022

Russian-installed officials in the area near the power station suggested the visit might last only one day, while IAEA and Ukrainian officials suggested it would last longer.

The mission will take a few days. If we are able to establish a permanent presence, or a continued presence, then it’s going to be prolonged. But this first segment is going to take a few days,” Rafael Grossi, the IAEA Director General told reporters at a hotel in Zaporizhzhia.

We have a very important task there to perform – to assess the real situation there, to help stabilise the situation as much as we can,” he said, adding that the IAEA team had guarantees from both Russia and Ukraine enabling it to enter the war zone.

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Russia captured Europe’s largest nuclear plant in early March as part of what Moscow calls a “special military operation”, which Kyiv and the West describe as an unprovoked invasion designed to grab land and erase Ukrainian identity.

? @RafaelMGrossi and a team of experts & inspectors have set off for the IAEA Support & Assistance Mission to #Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ), to help ensure nuclear safety and security at #Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya NPP and undertake vital safeguards activities.
? https://t.co/IrcPxHuukI pic.twitter.com/0IzcLDYsxO

— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg) August 29, 2022

A Russian military force has been at the plant ever since, as has most of the Ukrainian workforce who have toiled to continue running the facility, which traditionally supplied Ukraine with 20 per cent of its electricity needs.

Fighting was reported both near the power station and further afield.

With Kyiv and Moscow claiming battlefield successes in the battlefield, Ukraine mounted a counter-offensive to recapture territory in the south.

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