With obstacles and in the midst of hostilities, mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)who seeks to reach his nuclear power plant within a day Zaporozhyein Ukraine. According to Reuters, the mission was “stuck” on the Ukrainian side for three hours, remaining at a checkpoint about 20 kilometers from the front line.

An IAEA spokesman said that the head of the agency, Rafael Grossi, personally negotiated with the Ukrainian military authorities to allow the mission to continue on its way. Mr. Grossi remains confident that the mission will reach the nuclear plant within a day.

The Zaporozhye station, which is near the town of Energodar, was taken over by Moscow forces in March but is still connected to the Ukrainian power grid and run by employees of the Ukrainian state-owned electricity company Energoatom. The nuclear power plant site over the past month has been repeatedly shelled, in which Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other. The mission of the IAEA is to assess the risks of ongoing hostilities in the region.

Cross-categories for new combat

Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of wanting to sabotage a visit by a mission of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to the Russian-controlled Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, noting that Russia bombed the area again today.

“The Russians bombed (the city of) Energodar and the area of ​​the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant,” Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in a Telegram message, accusing Russia of acting as a “terrorist state.” “Russia is responsible for everything that happens at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and Energodar,” Yermak noted and stressed: “They want the visit of the IAEA mission to be disrupted.”

A few minutes later, adviser to the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak also accused Russia of striking at Energodar. “Russia is delivering ostentatious strikes on Energodar, along the official route of the IAEA mission, in order to blame Ukraine for this,” Podolyak said, adding that this is “a sign (of Russia) of a real “interest” in the inspection.” nuclear power plant.

The Russian Defense Ministry and a Moscow-backed local official have accused Ukraine of trying to seize Zaporozhye station, saying up to 60 Ukrainian soldiers crossed the Dnieper in boats early this morning. The Russian ministry added that “measures were taken” to neutralize Ukrainian military personnel, including with the use of combat aircraft. Reuters has not yet been able to independently verify the information from either side.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow is doing everything possible to ensure that Ukraine’s Zaporozhye nuclear power plant can operate safely and the International Atomic Energy Organization team can complete its work, which is visiting it. Speaking at an event in Moscow, Lavrov said: “We are doing everything possible to ensure that this station is safe, that it operates safely. And so that the mission could carry out all its plans there.”

For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced today that the situation around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is “complicated but remains fully under control” following reports of shelling of the nearby town of Energodar. In a Telegram message, the ministry said it was still prepared to guarantee the safety of the IAEA mission, despite efforts by the “Kyiv regime,” as it called it, to create problems for the visit.

The Ukrainian company Energoatom, which runs a nuclear power plant in the Russian-held region, said on Thursday morning that the Unit 5 had suspended operations due to Russian shelling.

^{According to REUTERS}