Russia and Ukraine accused each other of carrying out attacks near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant on Thursday, just as a team of United Nations inspectors was set to visit it despite the fighting.
Despite heavy shelling that caused an emergency system to shut down one of the plant’s reactors, a group of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors led by its director Rafael Grossi set off for the Russia-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“There has been increased military activity, including this morning until very recently,” Grossi said, adding that after receiving a briefing from the Ukrainian military, he decided to move forward despite the inherent risks. “But, after weighing the pros and cons, and having come this far, we’re not going back.”
He acknowledged that the risks in the so-called grey zone between Ukrainian and Russian positions are “very, very high,” but “we consider that we have the minimum conditions to move.”
Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, has been occupied by Russian forces but operated by Ukrainian engineers since the beginning of the six-month conflict. Ukraine claims Russia is using the plant as a shield, storing weapons and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly firing on the area, threatening a nuclear disaster that could affect the entire continent.
Fighting in early March caused a brief fire at its training complex, and the plant has recently been temporarily shut down due to damage, raising fears of a radiation leak or a reactor meltdown. Officials have begun distributing anti-radiation iodine tablets to residents in the surrounding area.
“We have a very important mission to complete,” Grossi said, adding that “we will immediately begin an assessment of the plant’s security and safety situation.”
“I am going to consider the possibility of establishing a continued presence of the IAEA at the plant,” he said, “which we believe is indispensable to stabilize the situation and to get regular, reliable, impartial, and neutral updates on what is going on there.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian forces launched an artillery barrage in the area before sending a group of up to 60 scouts to try to seize control of the nuclear plant.
According to the report, Ukrainian troops arrived in boats and attempted to seize the plant three kilometers northeast of it on the left bank of the Dnieper River. According to the ministry, Russian forces “took steps to destroy the enemy,” including the use of warplanes.
“The Kyiv regime’s provocation is intended to derail the IAEA’s group’s arrival at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Russian-installed administration of Enerhodar, which is located just outside the plant, reported that the Ukrainian shelling killed at least three local residents and injured one.
Ukrainian authorities accused Russia of shelling Enerhodar and the nuclear power plant’s territory in a false flag attack intended to derail the IAEA team’s arrival.
“We demand that Russia stop provocations and allow the IAEA unrestricted access to the Ukrainian nuclear facility,” Zaporizhzhia Governor Oleksandr Starukh said.
Neither side’s version of events could be independently verified right away.
Ukraine’s Enerhoatom company, which oversees the country’s nuclear power plants, said that mortar shelling by Russian forces caused one of its reactors to be shut down by its emergency protection system.
It also stated that the shelling damaged a backup power supply line used for internal needs and that one of the plant’s reactors that were not operational was switched to diesel generators.
