Un Going Nowhere After Reaching Ukraine S Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

The head of the UN nuclear agency said his experts were staying put after crossing Russian territory in Ukraine on Thursday and reaching Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, where both sides are warning of a potential disaster. An International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team braved heavy shelling to reach the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, arriving several hours late in a large motorcade with a heavy presence of Russian soldiers nearby. “We’re not going anywhere. The IAEA is now there, it is in the factory and it is not moving. It will stay there,” IAEA chief Raphael Grossi, who personally led the mission, told reporters after returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory. He said a team of IAEA experts had stayed behind at the plant and would provide an unbiased, neutral and technically sound assessment of the situation. “I have been concerned, I am concerned and I will continue to be concerned about the plant until we have a situation that is more stable, that is more predictable,” he said. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of creating the risk of a Chernobyl-like disaster with bombings near the plant, where the situation has been unfolding in recent weeks. Russia seized the plant early in the more than six-month war. Kyiv also accuses Russia of using the facility to shield its forces and of planning to steal its output by connecting it to the Russian electricity grid. Moscow denies this, but has so far rejected international calls to withdraw its troops from the plant. MURAT YUKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS Video released by Russia’s state news agency RIA showed IAEA inspectors, including Mr. Grossi, wearing hard hats and being shown around the site by Russian energy officials, who pointed out damaged water pipes. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was doing everything to ensure the plant could operate safely and allow IAEA inspectors to complete their tasks. Earlier, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom said Russian shelling forced the shutdown of one of the two reactors still operating at the site. As inspectors arrived on the front lines, Russian and Russian-based local officials accused Kyiv of sending troops in boats near dawn to try to seize the factory on Thursday, and of shelling the nearby Russian-controlled town of Enerhodar. Kyiv accused the Russians of staging these incidents to incriminate Ukraine and block the IAEA visit. A Reuters reporter in Enerhodar said a residential building was hit by shelling there, forcing people to take cover in a basement. It was not possible to ascertain who had fired the shots. Reuters reporters in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia saw flashes in the sky from explosions in the morning. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross called for an end to all fighting near the plant, warning that little could be done to respond in the event of a possible nuclear leak. “[It] it will be difficult if not impossible to provide humanitarian aid … and that is why the fighting must stop,” Robert Mardini told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine on Thursday. Since its seizure by Russia in March, the plant has been controlled by Russian troops but operated by Ukrainian personnel. The plant is located on the south bank of a huge reservoir on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in central southern Ukraine. Before the war, it provided more than a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity. In recent days, Ukraine has launched a major counter-offensive to recapture territory in southern Ukraine, mainly below the Dnipro in neighboring Kherson province. Ukrainian officials welcomed the IAEA visit, expressing hope that it would lead to the demilitarization of the plant. Officials based in Russia suggested the team from the UN nuclear watchdog would have only one day to inspect the plant, while the mission had been prepared for more. Energoatom head Petro Kotin said the IAEA visit would be successful if it led to the “demilitarization” of the facility. He said authorities were making “every effort” to restart a plant reactor that was shut down on Thursday due to shelling. Both sides have claimed battlefield successes in the new Ukrainian push to retake territory in the south, although details have been scarce so far, with Ukrainian officials giving little information on their advance. “It’s a very slow process, because we value people,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Moscow denied reports of Ukrainian advances and said its troops had destroyed Ukrainian forces. Reuters could not independently verify these claims. Millions of people have fled Ukraine, thousands have been killed and cities reduced to rubble in what Kyiv and the West call Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression. Moscow calls its actions a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Children returned to desks in some regions for the start of the Ukrainian school year. Ukrainian children who fled the country also started new schools across Central Europe for the first time on Thursday. But in Mykolaiv near the front line in southern Ukraine, children went to their bombed-out school only to take their books home. Most schools in the area will remain closed. “My heart is broken because I love this school,” said Viktoria Poliakova, a substitute teacher, as she looked at the damage. A team of UN experts arrived at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station complex on September 1 to assess the risk of radioactive fallout after a delay of several hours by shelling near the site – which Kyiv and Moscow blamed on each other. Reuters The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.

title: “Un Going Nowhere After Reaching Ukraine S Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Kristin Ferguson”

The head of the UN nuclear agency said his experts were staying put after crossing Russian territory in Ukraine on Thursday and reaching Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, where both sides are warning of a potential disaster. An International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team braved heavy shelling to reach the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, arriving several hours late in a large motorcade with a heavy presence of Russian soldiers nearby. “We’re not going anywhere. The IAEA is now there, it is in the factory and it is not moving. It will stay there,” IAEA chief Raphael Grossi, who personally led the mission, told reporters after returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory. He said a team of IAEA experts had stayed behind at the plant and would provide an unbiased, neutral and technically sound assessment of the situation. “I have been concerned, I am concerned and I will continue to be concerned about the plant until we have a situation that is more stable, that is more predictable,” he said. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of creating the risk of a Chernobyl-like disaster with bombings near the plant, where the situation has been unfolding in recent weeks. Russia seized the plant early in the more than six-month war. Kyiv also accuses Russia of using the facility to shield its forces and of planning to steal its output by connecting it to the Russian electricity grid. Moscow denies this, but has so far rejected international calls to withdraw its troops from the plant. MURAT YUKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS Video released by Russia’s state news agency RIA showed IAEA inspectors, including Mr. Grossi, wearing hard hats and being shown around the site by Russian energy officials, who pointed out damaged water pipes. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was doing everything to ensure the plant could operate safely and allow IAEA inspectors to complete their tasks. Earlier, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom said Russian shelling forced the shutdown of one of the two reactors still operating at the site. As inspectors arrived on the front lines, Russian and Russian-based local officials accused Kyiv of sending troops in boats near dawn to try to seize the factory on Thursday, and of shelling the nearby Russian-controlled town of Enerhodar. Kyiv accused the Russians of staging these incidents to incriminate Ukraine and block the IAEA visit. A Reuters reporter in Enerhodar said a residential building was hit by shelling there, forcing people to take cover in a basement. It was not possible to ascertain who had fired the shots. Reuters reporters in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia saw flashes in the sky from explosions in the morning. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross called for an end to all fighting near the plant, warning that little could be done to respond in the event of a possible nuclear leak. “[It] it will be difficult if not impossible to provide humanitarian aid … and that is why the fighting must stop,” Robert Mardini told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine on Thursday. Since its seizure by Russia in March, the plant has been controlled by Russian troops but operated by Ukrainian personnel. The plant is located on the south bank of a huge reservoir on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in central southern Ukraine. Before the war, it provided more than a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity. In recent days, Ukraine has launched a major counter-offensive to recapture territory in southern Ukraine, mainly below the Dnipro in neighboring Kherson province. Ukrainian officials welcomed the IAEA visit, expressing hope that it would lead to the demilitarization of the plant. Officials based in Russia suggested the team from the UN nuclear watchdog would have only one day to inspect the plant, while the mission had been prepared for more. Energoatom head Petro Kotin said the IAEA visit would be successful if it led to the “demilitarization” of the facility. He said authorities were making “every effort” to restart a plant reactor that was shut down on Thursday due to shelling. Both sides have claimed battlefield successes in the new Ukrainian push to retake territory in the south, although details have been scarce so far, with Ukrainian officials giving little information on their advance. “It’s a very slow process, because we value people,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Moscow denied reports of Ukrainian advances and said its troops had destroyed Ukrainian forces. Reuters could not independently verify these claims. Millions of people have fled Ukraine, thousands have been killed and cities reduced to rubble in what Kyiv and the West call Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression. Moscow calls its actions a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Children returned to desks in some regions for the start of the Ukrainian school year. Ukrainian children who fled the country also started new schools across Central Europe for the first time on Thursday. But in Mykolaiv near the front line in southern Ukraine, children went to their bombed-out school only to take their books home. Most schools in the area will remain closed. “My heart is broken because I love this school,” said Viktoria Poliakova, a substitute teacher, as she looked at the damage. A team of UN experts arrived at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station complex on September 1 to assess the risk of radioactive fallout after a delay of several hours by shelling near the site – which Kyiv and Moscow blamed on each other. Reuters The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.

title: “Un Going Nowhere After Reaching Ukraine S Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-22” author: “Paul Barbian”

The head of the UN nuclear agency said his experts were staying put after crossing Russian territory in Ukraine on Thursday and reaching Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, where both sides are warning of a potential disaster. An International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team braved heavy shelling to reach the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, arriving several hours late in a large motorcade with a heavy presence of Russian soldiers nearby. “We’re not going anywhere. The IAEA is now there, it is in the factory and it is not moving. It will stay there,” IAEA chief Raphael Grossi, who personally led the mission, told reporters after returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory. He said a team of IAEA experts had stayed behind at the plant and would provide an unbiased, neutral and technically sound assessment of the situation. “I have been concerned, I am concerned and I will continue to be concerned about the plant until we have a situation that is more stable, that is more predictable,” he said. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of creating the risk of a Chernobyl-like disaster with bombings near the plant, where the situation has been unfolding in recent weeks. Russia seized the plant early in the more than six-month war. Kyiv also accuses Russia of using the facility to shield its forces and of planning to steal its output by connecting it to the Russian electricity grid. Moscow denies this, but has so far rejected international calls to withdraw its troops from the plant. MURAT YUKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS Video released by Russia’s state news agency RIA showed IAEA inspectors, including Mr. Grossi, wearing hard hats and being shown around the site by Russian energy officials, who pointed out damaged water pipes. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was doing everything to ensure the plant could operate safely and allow IAEA inspectors to complete their tasks. Earlier, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom said Russian shelling forced the shutdown of one of the two reactors still operating at the site. As inspectors arrived on the front lines, Russian and Russian-based local officials accused Kyiv of sending troops in boats near dawn to try to seize the factory on Thursday, and of shelling the nearby Russian-controlled town of Enerhodar. Kyiv accused the Russians of staging these incidents to incriminate Ukraine and block the IAEA visit. A Reuters reporter in Enerhodar said a residential building was hit by shelling there, forcing people to take cover in a basement. It was not possible to ascertain who had fired the shots. Reuters reporters in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia saw flashes in the sky from explosions in the morning. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross called for an end to all fighting near the plant, warning that little could be done to respond in the event of a possible nuclear leak. “[It] it will be difficult if not impossible to provide humanitarian aid … and that is why the fighting must stop,” Robert Mardini told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine on Thursday. Since its seizure by Russia in March, the plant has been controlled by Russian troops but operated by Ukrainian personnel. The plant is located on the south bank of a huge reservoir on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in central southern Ukraine. Before the war, it provided more than a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity. In recent days, Ukraine has launched a major counter-offensive to recapture territory in southern Ukraine, mainly below the Dnipro in neighboring Kherson province. Ukrainian officials welcomed the IAEA visit, expressing hope that it would lead to the demilitarization of the plant. Officials based in Russia suggested the team from the UN nuclear watchdog would have only one day to inspect the plant, while the mission had been prepared for more. Energoatom head Petro Kotin said the IAEA visit would be successful if it led to the “demilitarization” of the facility. He said authorities were making “every effort” to restart a plant reactor that was shut down on Thursday due to shelling. Both sides have claimed battlefield successes in the new Ukrainian push to retake territory in the south, although details have been scarce so far, with Ukrainian officials giving little information on their advance. “It’s a very slow process, because we value people,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Moscow denied reports of Ukrainian advances and said its troops had destroyed Ukrainian forces. Reuters could not independently verify these claims. Millions of people have fled Ukraine, thousands have been killed and cities reduced to rubble in what Kyiv and the West call Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression. Moscow calls its actions a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Children returned to desks in some regions for the start of the Ukrainian school year. Ukrainian children who fled the country also started new schools across Central Europe for the first time on Thursday. But in Mykolaiv near the front line in southern Ukraine, children went to their bombed-out school only to take their books home. Most schools in the area will remain closed. “My heart is broken because I love this school,” said Viktoria Poliakova, a substitute teacher, as she looked at the damage. A team of UN experts arrived at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station complex on September 1 to assess the risk of radioactive fallout after a delay of several hours by shelling near the site – which Kyiv and Moscow blamed on each other. Reuters The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.

title: “Un Going Nowhere After Reaching Ukraine S Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-05” author: “Armand Vanburen”

The head of the UN nuclear agency said his experts were staying put after crossing Russian territory in Ukraine on Thursday and reaching Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, where both sides are warning of a potential disaster. An International Atomic Energy Agency inspection team braved heavy shelling to reach the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, arriving several hours late in a large motorcade with a heavy presence of Russian soldiers nearby. “We’re not going anywhere. The IAEA is now there, it is in the factory and it is not moving. It will stay there,” IAEA chief Raphael Grossi, who personally led the mission, told reporters after returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory. He said a team of IAEA experts had stayed behind at the plant and would provide an unbiased, neutral and technically sound assessment of the situation. “I have been concerned, I am concerned and I will continue to be concerned about the plant until we have a situation that is more stable, that is more predictable,” he said. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of creating the risk of a Chernobyl-like disaster with bombings near the plant, where the situation has been unfolding in recent weeks. Russia seized the plant early in the more than six-month war. Kyiv also accuses Russia of using the facility to shield its forces and of planning to steal its output by connecting it to the Russian electricity grid. Moscow denies this, but has so far rejected international calls to withdraw its troops from the plant. MURAT YUKSELIR / THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS Video released by Russia’s state news agency RIA showed IAEA inspectors, including Mr. Grossi, wearing hard hats and being shown around the site by Russian energy officials, who pointed out damaged water pipes. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was doing everything to ensure the plant could operate safely and allow IAEA inspectors to complete their tasks. Earlier, Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom said Russian shelling forced the shutdown of one of the two reactors still operating at the site. As inspectors arrived on the front lines, Russian and Russian-based local officials accused Kyiv of sending troops in boats near dawn to try to seize the factory on Thursday, and of shelling the nearby Russian-controlled town of Enerhodar. Kyiv accused the Russians of staging these incidents to incriminate Ukraine and block the IAEA visit. A Reuters reporter in Enerhodar said a residential building was hit by shelling there, forcing people to take cover in a basement. It was not possible to ascertain who had fired the shots. Reuters reporters in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia saw flashes in the sky from explosions in the morning. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross called for an end to all fighting near the plant, warning that little could be done to respond in the event of a possible nuclear leak. “[It] it will be difficult if not impossible to provide humanitarian aid … and that is why the fighting must stop,” Robert Mardini told a news conference during a visit to Ukraine on Thursday. Since its seizure by Russia in March, the plant has been controlled by Russian troops but operated by Ukrainian personnel. The plant is located on the south bank of a huge reservoir on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in central southern Ukraine. Before the war, it provided more than a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity. In recent days, Ukraine has launched a major counter-offensive to recapture territory in southern Ukraine, mainly below the Dnipro in neighboring Kherson province. Ukrainian officials welcomed the IAEA visit, expressing hope that it would lead to the demilitarization of the plant. Officials based in Russia suggested the team from the UN nuclear watchdog would have only one day to inspect the plant, while the mission had been prepared for more. Energoatom head Petro Kotin said the IAEA visit would be successful if it led to the “demilitarization” of the facility. He said authorities were making “every effort” to restart a plant reactor that was shut down on Thursday due to shelling. Both sides have claimed battlefield successes in the new Ukrainian push to retake territory in the south, although details have been scarce so far, with Ukrainian officials giving little information on their advance. “It’s a very slow process, because we value people,” said Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Moscow denied reports of Ukrainian advances and said its troops had destroyed Ukrainian forces. Reuters could not independently verify these claims. Millions of people have fled Ukraine, thousands have been killed and cities reduced to rubble in what Kyiv and the West call Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression. Moscow calls its actions a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Children returned to desks in some regions for the start of the Ukrainian school year. Ukrainian children who fled the country also started new schools across Central Europe for the first time on Thursday. But in Mykolaiv near the front line in southern Ukraine, children went to their bombed-out school only to take their books home. Most schools in the area will remain closed. “My heart is broken because I love this school,” said Viktoria Poliakova, a substitute teacher, as she looked at the damage. A team of UN experts arrived at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station complex on September 1 to assess the risk of radioactive fallout after a delay of several hours by shelling near the site – which Kyiv and Moscow blamed on each other. Reuters The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.