Zelensky meets IAEA head over threats to Zaporizhzhia nuclear station

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has met with top UN nuclear inspectors in Kyiv ahead of their visit to inspect the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as intense fighting raged across southern Ukraine, his office says.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi arrived in Kyiv late Monday at the head of a 14-strong team ahead of a visit to the Zaporizhzhia plant — Europe’s largest atomic facility — which has been occupied by Russian troops since early March.

“This is probably one of the top-priority questions regarding safety of Ukraine and the world today,” Zelensky says, calling for the “immediate de-militarization of the plant” and its transfer to “full Ukrainian control.”

The plant was targeted over the weekend by fresh shelling, Ukraine’s nuclear agency Energoatom says, with Moscow and Kyiv trading blame for attacks around the complex of six nuclear reactors located on the banks of the Dnipro River.

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