Un Inspectors Head To Ukraine Nuclear Plant In War Zone

Underscoring the danger, Kyiv and Moscow again accused each other of shelling the area around the compound overnight. Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. The fighting in early March caused a brief fire at its training complex, and in recent days, the plant has been temporarily shut down due to a fault in a transmission line, heightening fears of a radioactive leak or even a reactor meltdown. Officials have begun distributing anti-radiation iodine tablets to nearby residents. The complex, a vital energy source for Ukraine, has been occupied by Russian forces and run by Ukrainian engineers since the early days of the six-month war. Ukraine claims Russia is using the plant as a shield, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of firing recklessly at the facility. For months, as the fighting raged, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency sought access to the plant for an unprecedented wartime mission, and world leaders demanded that the U.N. inspector be allowed to inspect it. As the convoy of UN-marked trucks and SUVs finally arrived in the afternoon in the city of Zaporizhzhia, about 120 kilometers (70 miles) by road from the plant, IAEA chief and mission leader Rafael Grossi underlined the challenges they face. “It is a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident and preserve this important – the largest, the largest – nuclear power plant in Europe,” he said. He said an initial tour would last a few days, after which “we’ll have a pretty good idea of ​​what’s going on.” He said he had received “express assurances” from Russia that the 14 experts would be able to do their jobs. Grossi said he hoped the IAEA would be able to establish a “continuous presence” at the plant to protect it from an accident. People watched the progress of the mission anxiously. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell renewed his call for Russia to fully demilitarize the area around the plant. “They are playing games. They are gambling with nuclear safety,” Borrell said. “We cannot play war games in the neighborhood of a location like this.” While the inspectors were en route, Russian-backed local authorities accused Ukrainian forces of repeatedly shelling the factory and the town where it is located, Enerhodar. They said drone strikes hit the factory’s administration building and training center. Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of the administration in the Ukrainian city of Nikopol, across the Dnieper River from the plant, charged that the attacks were carried out by the Russians in an attempt to make Ukraine look like the culprit. Kyiv is seeking international help to regain control of the region. “We believe that the mission should be a very important step to return (the plant) to the control of the Ukrainian government by the end of the year,” said Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushenko. In other developments: — Ukrainian officials said automatic weapons fire was heard in the streets of southern Kherson and claimed Russian soldiers were searching homes for anti-Russian partisans. A flare-up of fighting in the Russian-held region this week sparked early speculation that Ukraine was launching a counter-offensive. — The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that in the Donetsk region in the east, four people were killed and two wounded in rocket attacks last day. — Russia’s Gazprom cut off the flow of natural gas through a major pipeline to Western Europe early Wednesday for what it said would be a three-day shutdown for routine maintenance. German authorities contested this explanation.

Watch AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at

title: “Un Inspectors Head To Ukraine Nuclear Plant In War Zone Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-26” author: “Helen Sakai”

Underscoring the danger, Kyiv and Moscow again accused each other of shelling the area around the compound overnight. Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. The fighting in early March caused a brief fire at its training complex, and in recent days, the plant has been temporarily shut down due to a fault in a transmission line, heightening fears of a radioactive leak or even a reactor meltdown. Officials have begun distributing anti-radiation iodine tablets to nearby residents. The complex, a vital energy source for Ukraine, has been occupied by Russian forces and run by Ukrainian engineers since the early days of the six-month war. Ukraine claims Russia is using the plant as a shield, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of firing recklessly at the facility. For months, as the fighting raged, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency sought access to the plant for an unprecedented wartime mission, and world leaders demanded that the U.N. inspector be allowed to inspect it. As the convoy of UN-marked trucks and SUVs finally arrived in the afternoon in the city of Zaporizhzhia, about 120 kilometers (70 miles) by road from the plant, IAEA chief and mission leader Rafael Grossi underlined the challenges they face. “It is a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident and preserve this important – the largest, the largest – nuclear power plant in Europe,” he said. He said an initial tour would last a few days, after which “we’ll have a pretty good idea of ​​what’s going on.” He said he had received “express assurances” from Russia that the 14 experts would be able to do their jobs. Grossi said he hoped the IAEA would be able to establish a “continuous presence” at the plant to protect it from an accident. People watched the progress of the mission anxiously. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell renewed his call for Russia to fully demilitarize the area around the plant. “They are playing games. They are gambling with nuclear safety,” Borrell said. “We cannot play war games in the neighborhood of a location like this.” While the inspectors were en route, Russian-backed local authorities accused Ukrainian forces of repeatedly shelling the factory and the town where it is located, Enerhodar. They said drone strikes hit the factory’s administration building and training center. Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of the administration in the Ukrainian city of Nikopol, across the Dnieper River from the plant, charged that the attacks were carried out by the Russians in an attempt to make Ukraine look like the culprit. Kyiv is seeking international help to regain control of the region. “We believe that the mission should be a very important step to return (the plant) to the control of the Ukrainian government by the end of the year,” said Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushenko. In other developments: — Ukrainian officials said automatic weapons fire was heard in the streets of southern Kherson and claimed Russian soldiers were searching homes for anti-Russian partisans. A flare-up of fighting in the Russian-held region this week sparked early speculation that Ukraine was launching a counter-offensive. — The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that in the Donetsk region in the east, four people were killed and two wounded in rocket attacks last day. — Russia’s Gazprom cut off the flow of natural gas through a major pipeline to Western Europe early Wednesday for what it said would be a three-day shutdown for routine maintenance. German authorities contested this explanation.

Watch AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at

title: “Un Inspectors Head To Ukraine Nuclear Plant In War Zone Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-10” author: “Mary Hackett”

Underscoring the danger, Kyiv and Moscow again accused each other of shelling the area around the compound overnight. Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. The fighting in early March caused a brief fire at its training complex, and in recent days, the plant has been temporarily shut down due to a fault in a transmission line, heightening fears of a radioactive leak or even a reactor meltdown. Officials have begun distributing anti-radiation iodine tablets to nearby residents. The complex, a vital energy source for Ukraine, has been occupied by Russian forces and run by Ukrainian engineers since the early days of the six-month war. Ukraine claims Russia is using the plant as a shield, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of firing recklessly at the facility. For months, as the fighting raged, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency sought access to the plant for an unprecedented wartime mission, and world leaders demanded that the U.N. inspector be allowed to inspect it. As the convoy of UN-marked trucks and SUVs finally arrived in the afternoon in the city of Zaporizhzhia, about 120 kilometers (70 miles) by road from the plant, IAEA chief and mission leader Rafael Grossi underlined the challenges they face. “It is a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident and preserve this important – the largest, the largest – nuclear power plant in Europe,” he said. He said an initial tour would last a few days, after which “we’ll have a pretty good idea of ​​what’s going on.” He said he had received “express assurances” from Russia that the 14 experts would be able to do their jobs. Grossi said he hoped the IAEA would be able to establish a “continuous presence” at the plant to protect it from an accident. People watched the progress of the mission anxiously. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell renewed his call for Russia to fully demilitarize the area around the plant. “They are playing games. They are gambling with nuclear safety,” Borrell said. “We cannot play war games in the neighborhood of a location like this.” While the inspectors were en route, Russian-backed local authorities accused Ukrainian forces of repeatedly shelling the factory and the town where it is located, Enerhodar. They said drone strikes hit the factory’s administration building and training center. Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of the administration in the Ukrainian city of Nikopol, across the Dnieper River from the plant, charged that the attacks were carried out by the Russians in an attempt to make Ukraine look like the culprit. Kyiv is seeking international help to regain control of the region. “We believe that the mission should be a very important step to return (the plant) to the control of the Ukrainian government by the end of the year,” said Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushenko. In other developments: — Ukrainian officials said automatic weapons fire was heard in the streets of southern Kherson and claimed Russian soldiers were searching homes for anti-Russian partisans. A flare-up of fighting in the Russian-held region this week sparked early speculation that Ukraine was launching a counter-offensive. — The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that in the Donetsk region in the east, four people were killed and two wounded in rocket attacks last day. — Russia’s Gazprom cut off the flow of natural gas through a major pipeline to Western Europe early Wednesday for what it said would be a three-day shutdown for routine maintenance. German authorities contested this explanation.

Watch AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at

title: “Un Inspectors Head To Ukraine Nuclear Plant In War Zone Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-24” author: “Hugh Garrett”

Underscoring the danger, Kyiv and Moscow again accused each other of shelling the area around the compound overnight. Zaporizhzhia is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. The fighting in early March caused a brief fire at its training complex, and in recent days, the plant has been temporarily shut down due to a fault in a transmission line, heightening fears of a radioactive leak or even a reactor meltdown. Officials have begun distributing anti-radiation iodine tablets to nearby residents. The complex, a vital energy source for Ukraine, has been occupied by Russian forces and run by Ukrainian engineers since the early days of the six-month war. Ukraine claims Russia is using the plant as a shield, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of firing recklessly at the facility. For months, as the fighting raged, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency sought access to the plant for an unprecedented wartime mission, and world leaders demanded that the U.N. inspector be allowed to inspect it. As the convoy of UN-marked trucks and SUVs finally arrived in the afternoon in the city of Zaporizhzhia, about 120 kilometers (70 miles) by road from the plant, IAEA chief and mission leader Rafael Grossi underlined the challenges they face. “It is a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident and preserve this important – the largest, the largest – nuclear power plant in Europe,” he said. He said an initial tour would last a few days, after which “we’ll have a pretty good idea of ​​what’s going on.” He said he had received “express assurances” from Russia that the 14 experts would be able to do their jobs. Grossi said he hoped the IAEA would be able to establish a “continuous presence” at the plant to protect it from an accident. People watched the progress of the mission anxiously. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell renewed his call for Russia to fully demilitarize the area around the plant. “They are playing games. They are gambling with nuclear safety,” Borrell said. “We cannot play war games in the neighborhood of a location like this.” While the inspectors were en route, Russian-backed local authorities accused Ukrainian forces of repeatedly shelling the factory and the town where it is located, Enerhodar. They said drone strikes hit the factory’s administration building and training center. Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of the administration in the Ukrainian city of Nikopol, across the Dnieper River from the plant, charged that the attacks were carried out by the Russians in an attempt to make Ukraine look like the culprit. Kyiv is seeking international help to regain control of the region. “We believe that the mission should be a very important step to return (the plant) to the control of the Ukrainian government by the end of the year,” said Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushenko. In other developments: — Ukrainian officials said automatic weapons fire was heard in the streets of southern Kherson and claimed Russian soldiers were searching homes for anti-Russian partisans. A flare-up of fighting in the Russian-held region this week sparked early speculation that Ukraine was launching a counter-offensive. — The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that in the Donetsk region in the east, four people were killed and two wounded in rocket attacks last day. — Russia’s Gazprom cut off the flow of natural gas through a major pipeline to Western Europe early Wednesday for what it said would be a three-day shutdown for routine maintenance. German authorities contested this explanation.

Watch AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at