One goal – to prevent a nuclear catastrophe
UN nuclear inspectors went on a mission to Ukraine's Zaporozhye nuclear power plant on Wednesday, saying their task was to prevent a nuclear accident.
Source: Jutarnji list
A Reuters reporter accompanying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team in a convoy from the capital Kyiv said the inspectors had arrived in Zaporozhye, where they were likely to spend the night before visiting a nearby power plant controlled by the Russian military on Thursday.
Officials appointed by Russia suggested the visit could last only one day, while officials from the IAEA and Ukraine suggested it would last longer.
"The mission will last a few days. If we manage to establish a permanent presence or a continuous presence, then it will be extended. But this first segment will last a few days," Rafael Grossi, director of the IAEA, told reporters at a hotel in Zaporozhye.
"We have a very important task there - to assess the actual situation and help stabilize the situation as much as we can," he said, adding that the IAEA team had assurances from both Russia and Ukraine that it was allowed to enter the war zone.
The Russian military is at the plant, as are most Ukrainian workers at the plant, which has traditionally supplied Ukraine with 20 percent of its electricity needs.
Fighting has been recorded near the power plant, and Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of shelling the area near the power plant. Kyiv says there is a risk of nuclear disaster due to Russia's actions.
Grossi said one of his priorities is to talk to the Ukrainian staff who run the plant.
