AMN / WEB DESK
The Chief of the U.N.’s atomic energy agency said it has a team on the way to visit Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, situated near the front line of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi tweeted that he is leading the team that will be at the power plant “later this week.”
“We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine’s and Europe’s biggest nuclear facility,” Grossi said.
The IAEA said the mission will focus on assessing physical damage at the plant, determining the functionality of safety and security systems, evaluating staff conditions and performing “urgent safeguards activities.”
Russia has controlled the plant site since early in its six-month invasion, but the plant is being operated by Ukrainian engineers.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters Monday in Stockholm that the international community should be united in demanding Russia’s withdrawal from the nuclear plant, saying that is the only way to ensure security at the site.
“We expect from the mission a clear statement of facts of violation of nuclear safety protocols. We know that Russia is putting not only Ukraine but also entire world at threat, at risk of nuclear accident,” Kuleba said.
Hours later, the Kremlin called on the international community to pressure Ukraine to reduce tensions at the plant, saying it was Ukraine that is putting Europe at risk with shelling.