IAEA maintains visit to Zaporizhia despite hostilities

The IAEA maintains in Ukraine the visit of the nuclear power plant of Zaporijjia, occupied by Russian troops, despite reports of bombardments on the road. Moscow accuses kyiv of having led a landing of “saboteurs” near the power plant.

“There were military activities, including this morning, a few minutes ago”, but “we are not stopping, we are moving”, said Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the press in the city of Zaporijjia, located about 120 kilometers from the plant before the departure of the procession to this installation. “We will immediately begin assessing the security situation at the plant,” he added.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of carrying out artillery strikes on Energodar, the city where the nuclear power plant is located, on the day the IAEA mission is to go there.

“The Russians are carrying out artillery strikes on the route by which the IAEA mission must go to the Zaporizhia power plant”, accused the mayor of this city in exile Dmytro Orlov on Telegram, saying that the delegation could not not “continue on its way” to the plant “for security reasons”.

bombed site

The site of the plant has been bombed several times raising fears of a nuclear disaster. “We demand from Russia to stop its provocations and to give the IAEA access to this Ukrainian nuclear facility,” Orlov continued.

From early morning, the Russians “fire on Energodar with mortars, automatic weapons and bombard with rockets”, he accused earlier in the morning in a separate message on Telegram publishing photos of damaged buildings and plumes of black smoke.

The Russian army for its part accused Ukrainian troops on Thursday of having sent a team of “saboteurs” near the plant.

“Around 06:00 a.m., two groups of Ukrainian army saboteurs, up to sixty people, landed on board seven boats (…) three kilometers northeast of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant”, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, saying it had taken “measures to annihilate the enemy”.

This article has been published automatically. Sources: ats / blg / afp