Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over each others’ actions around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Friday as a team of inspectors from the UN nuclear watchdog tried to check the safety of the facility and avert a potential disaster.
Ukraine’s state nuclear company said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission had not been allowed to enter the plant’s crisis centre, where Ukraine says Russian troops are stationed, and would struggle to make an impartial assessment.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Ukraine was continuing to shell the plant, raising the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
The site, 10 km (6 miles) from Ukrainian positions across the Dnipro river, was captured by Russian forces soon after they invaded Ukraine in late February and has become the focus of concern.
It has come under repeated shelling over the past month, with Kyiv and Moscow trading blame for the firing. The plant is still run by Ukrainian staff and Russia has rejected calls for it to withdraw its troops.
It’s like claiming self-defense when the victim has lots of bullet wounds only in his back.