KYIV
\nA team from the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Monday started its journey to the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant at the heart of fighting in Ukraine, a long-awaited mission to inspect crucial safety systems that the world hopes will help avoid a catastrophe.
\nOffsetting that rare ray of hope, Ukraine and Russia again accused each other of stoking the conflict by shelling the wider region around the plant, which had already been briefly knocked offline last week.
\nThat incident heightened dread of a nuclear disaster in a country still haunted by the 1986 explosion at Chernobyl, and officials began handing out anti-radiation iodine tablets shortly after.
\nTo avoid such a disaster, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi has for months sought access to the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe\u2019s biggest, which has been occupied by Russian forces and run by Ukrainian workers since the early days of the six-month-old war.
\n\u201cThe day has come,\u201d Grossi tweeted, adding that the Vienna-based IAEA\u2019s \u201cSupport and Assistance Mission … is now on its way.\u201d It is slated to arrive later this week. Grossi didn\u2019t provide a more precise timeline or give further details beyond posting a picture of himself with 13 other experts.
\nHis announcement came as Ukraine accused Russia of new rocket and artillery strikes at or near the plant, intensifying fears that the fighting could cause a massive radiation leak.
\nThe facility, which has six reactors, was already temporarily knocked offline under the barrage of shelling last week.
\nUkraine has alleged that Russia is essentially holding the plant hostage, storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly firing on the facility.
\nUkraine reported shelling in Nikopol, the city across the Dnieper river from the nuclear power plant, and said one person was killed and five others were wounded. In Enerhodar, just a few kilometers from the plant, the city\u2019s Ukrainian mayor, Dmytro Orlov, blamed Russian shelling for injuries to at least 10 residents.
\n\u201cApparently, (the Russians) have rehearsed their scenario ahead of the arrival of the IAEA mission,\u201d Orlov said on Telegram. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that it is \u201cwithout an exaggeration, this mission will be the hardest in the history of IAEA.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV A team from the U.N. nuclear watchdog on Monday started its journey to the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant at the heart of fighting in Ukraine, a long-awaited mission to inspect crucial safety systems that the world hopes will help avoid a catastrophe. Offsetting that rare ray of hope, Ukraine and Russia again accused each […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280423,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-280413","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n