IAEA mission went to Zaporizhzhia NPP – UN nuclear chief

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said that the IAEA  delegation under his leadership went to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP).

Grossi announced this on Twitter.

"The day has come. IAEA's Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporizhzhia (ISAMZ) is now on its way. We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine's and Europe's biggest nuclear facility. Proud to lead this mission which will be in ZNPP later this week," he wrote.

According to the NYT, the IAEA mission will include experts from Poland and Lithuania, which Ukraine considers friendly, and representatives from Serbia and China, which Ukraine treats with great suspicion because of their close relations with Moscow.

Other members are from countries that mostly stood aside from the war in Ukraine or maintained open communication channels with the Kremlin. These include Albania, France, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, and North Macedonia.

Reference

On August 17, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine was ready to ensure proper control and that the IAEA mission could be sent to the captured ZNPP legally and quickly.

On August 5, the russian occupiers shelled the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP twice in one day. On the evening of August 6, the russian occupiers fired rockets at Enerhodar and hit the ZNPP site. On August 11, russian troops shelled Zaporizhzhia NPP 4 times.

At a meeting of the UN Security Council on August 11, the USA indicated that for the safety of the ZNPP, Russian troops must withdraw from there. russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, did not support the proposal to create a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Read Rubryka's timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.