Ukraine, on Thursday, accused Russia of shelling the pre-agreed route for a team of international inspectors who were headed to the country’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to ensure its safety .
Meanwhile, the country’s state nuclear agency, Energoatom, reported that Russian shelling of the plant itself triggered its safety systems, forcing the shutdown of one of its power units. It said one of the plant’s own power supply lines was also damaged. It comes just a week after shelling left the Russian-controlled plant disconnected from Ukraine’s national power grid for the first time in its 40-year history.
Russian officials in turn accused Ukraine of being responsible for the eruption of fierce fighting around the plant, which is Europe’s largest. NBC News could not immediately verify the claims of either side.
Oleksandr Starukh, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said in a post on the Telegram messaging app early Thursday that Moscow’s troops were firing at the route being taken by the team of United Nations inspectors as they set out from the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is under Ukraine’s control, to the nearby plant, which has been controlled by Russian forces since the early days of the war.
He said the International Atomic Energy Agency team couldn’t continue its movement due to security reasons.
NBC