UN Inspectors Arrive at Ukraine Nuclear Plant Amid Fighting

The Director General of nuclear watchdog, Rafael Mariano Grossi (2nd L), speaks to unidentified authorities as the U.N. agency mission heads to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on Sept. 1, 2022. International Atomic Energy Agency via AP

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine—A U.N. inspection team entered Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Thursday on a mission to safeguard it against catastrophe, reaching the site amid fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces that prompted the shutdown of one reactor and underscored the urgency of the task.

The 14-member delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived in a convoy of SUVs and vans after months of negotiations to enable the experts to pass through the front lines and get inside Europe’s biggest nuclear plant.