A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headed on Wednesday (August 31) towards the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to inspect the damage after shelling nearby sparked fears of a radiation disaster, Reuters reports.
Russian forces captured the plant soon after they launched their Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and it is close to front lines. Russia and Ukraine have traded accusations of firing shells that have endangered the plant.
The IAEA team set off from Kyiv in a convoy of vehicles at dawn. The mission is being led by the IAEA chief Rafael Grossi and comes after extensive negotiations.
It was not clear when the IAEA team would reach Europe's biggest nuclear plant and when it would conduct its inspection. Both sides in the war have in recent days reported regular shelling in the vicinity.
Ukraine on Tuesday (August 30) accused Russia of shelling a corridor that IAEA officials would need to use to reach the plant in an effort to get them to travel via Russian-annexed Crimea instead. There was no immediate response from Russia.
Ukraine's armed forces general staff said Russia was attacking with tanks, rockets and artillery along a contact line in the Zaporizhzhia region - part of which, including the city of Zaporizhzhia, remains under Ukraine's control.
