UN inspectors near the Ukrainian nuclear plant on a mission to avoid an accident

Zaporizhia, Ukraine (Reuters) – United Nations inspectors arrived in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia on Wednesday on a mission to prevent a nuclear accident at a Russian-occupied power plant where the nearby bombing has raised global fears of disaster.

The IAEA team arrived in the city, 55 kilometers from the station, where they are likely to spend the night before arriving at the facility on Thursday.

Although the officials installed by the Russians have indicated that the visit may last only one day, the IAEA hopes for a longer period.

“If we can establish a permanent presence, or a continued presence, that will be extended. But the first part will take a few days,” its president, Rafael Grossi, told reporters in Zaporizhia.

“It’s a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident,” he said.

Russia seized the nuclear reactor, the largest in Europe, in early March, and its military power has been there ever since, as did most of the Ukrainian workforce that had to continue running the facility, which provided 20% of Ukraine’s electricity.

Fighting near the power plant and further afield was reported on Wednesday, with both Kyiv and Moscow reporting battlefield successes amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive to retake southern territory.

Ukraine repelled Russian attempts to launch an offensive in the direction of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, two towns north of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, the General Staff of the Armed Forces announced on Wednesday. She added that the forces loyal to Moscow focused on Bakhmut in their efforts to extend their control over the Donbass region.

Reuters was not able to independently verify such reports.

Away from Ukraine, Russia halted gas supplies through Europe’s main supply route on Wednesday, intensifying an economic battle between Moscow and Brussels that could lead to a recession and energy rationing in some of the continent’s richest countries. Read more

Neighboring Estonia has announced plans to ban most Russians from entering the country within weeks, if possible in coordination with its regional partners, after the European Union was too divided to agree to a blanket ban. Read more

Russia says it is conducting a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities.

Kyiv and the West describe Russia’s actions as an unjustified war of aggression that has caused millions to flee and reduced cities to rubble.

high risk

For weeks now, Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of jeopardizing the safety of the Zaporizhia plant through artillery or drone strikes, risking a Chernobyl-style radiological disaster.

Kyiv says Russia is using the plant as a shield to strike towns and cities, knowing that it would be difficult for Ukraine to return fire. It also accused Russian forces of bombing the factory.

The Russian Defense Ministry said radiation levels at the station were normal.

Russia denied the Ukrainian allegations of its reckless behavior, and questioned the reason for its bombing of a facility where its forces were being garrisoned, as it called the security detail.

Moscow accused the Ukrainians of bombing the station in an attempt to provoke international outrage which Kyiv hopes will lead to a demilitarized zone.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushenko said the IAEA inspection was a step towards “dismantling and demilitarizing the site”. Russia has said it has no plans to withdraw its forces for the time being. Read more

Asked about a demilitarized zone, Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency said this was a political issue for countries involved in the conflict.

Russia said it welcomed the stated intention of the International Atomic Energy Agency to establish a permanent mission at the station.

But Yevgeny Palitsky, head of the Russian administration in the region, told Interfax news agency that the agency’s inspectors “should see the work of the station in one day.”

The factory is close to the front lines and the Ukrainian armed forces accused Russia on Wednesday of bombing the area and preparing to resume the offensive there.

There was no immediate comment from Moscow.

Meanwhile, Germany’s defense minister, General Eberhard Zorn, has warned that the West should not underestimate Moscow’s military strength, saying Russia has room to open a second front if it chooses to do so. Read more

Russia captured swathes of southern Ukraine near the Black Sea coast in the first weeks of the more than six-month-old war, including the Kherson region, which lies north of Russia-annexed Crimea.

Ukraine sees regaining control of the region as crucial to preventing Russian attempts to seize more territory in the West that might eventually cut off its access to the Black Sea.

She urged the citizens of Crimea to reveal where the Russian forces live and who cooperates among the local population.

Russia denied reports of Ukraine’s advance and said its forces had defeated Ukrainian forces, neither of which could be independently verified by Reuters.

Reporting by Reuters offices. Written by Andrew Osborne, Matthews Williams, William McLean, and Costas Petsas; Editing by Philippa Fletcher, Angus McSwan and Bill Bercrot

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