ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — A U.N. inspection team entered Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Thursday on a mission to safeguard it from catastrophe, arriving at the site amid fighting between the forces Russians and Ukrainians that caused the shutdown of a reactor and underlined the urgency of the task.
The 14-member delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in a convoy of SUVs and vans after months of negotiations to allow experts to pass through the front lines and enter Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
“The IAEA is now at the plant and it is not moving. It will stay there. We will have a continued presence there at the plant with some of my experts,” said IAEA Director Rafael Grossi, the leader of the mission , after the group got a first look at conditions inside.
But he added: “I will continue to worry about the plant until we have a more stable situation.”
As the experts made their way through the war zone to the complex, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of bombing the area and trying to derail the visit. The fight delayed the team’s progress.
“There were times when the fire was evident — the heavy machine guns, the artillery, the mortars in two or three times were really very concerning, I would say, for everybody,” Grossi said.
Just before the IAEA team arrived, Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear power company, said the Russian mortar shelling had caused one of its reactors to shut down its system of emergency protection and had damaged a backup power supply line used for internal needs.
One of the reactors at the plant that was not working was switched to diesel generators, Energoatom said.
Once inside the plant, Grossi said, his experts were able to tour the entire site, including control rooms, emergency systems and diesel generators. He said he met with plant staff and residents of the nearby town, Energodar, who asked the agency for help.
He reported that the team had gathered important information in its initial inspection and will remain there to continue its assessment.
“It’s obvious that the plant and the physical integrity of the plant has been violated several times by accident, deliberately; we don’t have the elements to assess that,” Grossi said. “And that’s why we’re trying to put in place certain mechanisms and the presence, as I said, of our people there.”
The Zaporizhzhia plant has been occupied by Russian forces but run by Ukrainian engineers since the early days of the 6-month war. Ukraine alleges that Russia is using it as a shield to launch attacks, while Moscow accuses Ukraine of firing recklessly into the area.
Fighting in early March caused a brief fire at its training complex, and in recent days the plant was briefly taken offline due to damage, raising fears of a radiation leak or meltdown of the reactor. Officials have begun distributing anti-radiation iodine tablets to nearby residents.
Experts have also expressed concern that Ukrainian staff are overworked and stressed by the occupation of the plant by Russian forces, conditions they say could lead to dangerous mistakes.
Grossi said after his initial tour that Ukrainian employees are “in a difficult situation, but they have an incredible degree of professionalism. And I see them calm and moving forward.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow expects “impartiality” from the team.
“We are taking all necessary steps to ensure that the plant is safe, that it operates safely and that the mission fulfills all of its plans there,” he said.
Ahead of the visit, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces unleashed an artillery bombardment in the area and sent a group of up to 60 scouts to try to seize the plant on the Dnieper River. He said Ukrainian troops arrived in seven speedboats, but Russian forces “took steps to destroy the enemy,” using warplanes.
Some of the Ukrainian shells landed within 400 meters (yards) of the plant’s No. 1 reactor, Russian officials said.
The Russian-installed administration in Enerhodar reported that at least three residents were killed early Thursday by Ukrainian shelling.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of shelling Enerhodar and a corridor through which the IAEA team was supposed to pass.
Neither side’s version of events could immediately be independently verified.
The fighting came as Ukraine tried to start the new school year amid a war. Just over half of the country’s schools are reopening to face-to-face classes despite the risks.
In other developments, authorities in the Russian-backed separatist government in eastern Donetsk region said 13 emergency workers were killed by Ukrainian shelling in Rubtsi, a village in neighboring Kharkiv province. Much of the fighting in recent weeks and months has focused on the area.
___
Gatopoulos reported from Kyiv, Ukaine.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the war at