The IAEA's visit to the Zaporizhzhya NPP will last 4 days, - WSJ

Residents of Nikopol hope that at least this will stop Russian terrorists from carrying out their daily shelling of civilian houses. The IAEA will begin its visit to the Zaporizhzhya NPP on Wednesday, August 31. The mission of nuclear experts will last 4 days - until Saturday, September 3. This was reported by the American edition of The Wall Street Journal.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday that a team led by its director general, Rafael Grossi, was heading to the plant to assess the damage, check safety systems and assess the condition of personnel. According to an internal Ukrainian government document seen by The Wall Street Journal, the review will begin on Wednesday and last until Saturday.

The IAEA said that shelling around the recovered plant damaged buildings about 100 yards from the reactor complex and damaged water pipes, which have now been repaired, noting that they do not know the full extent of the damage, the Ukrainian publication reports.

According to Morgan D. Libby, a former IAEA official, the trip is the most important visit by the IAEA since Chernobyl in 1986, after the catastrophic accident that sent radioactive dust across Europe. In addition to the risks of damage to power lines, backup generators and radioactive materials, the UN agency also warned that the hostilities jeopardize access to Ukraine's reactors in the event of an accident. The IAEA has also repeatedly warned that the shortage and exhaustion of station personnel is itself a nuclear safety crisis.

The G7 welcomes the trip of IAEA experts to the Zaporizhzhya NPP and remains deeply concerned about the serious threat to the facility's safety, Energoatom said in a statement. The G7 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Expert Group commented on the IAEA-led mission to the Zaporizhzhya NPP.

“We welcome the IAEA mission announced by Director General Grossi on August 29, 2022, to address nuclear safety and safeguards. We also welcome the efforts of UN Secretary-General António Guterres to provide the necessary support to this mission," - the G7 group said in a statement.

The experts of the "Big Seven" once again called to provide "IAEA employees with timely, safe and unhindered access to all nuclear facilities on the territory of Ukraine, as well as the opportunity to communicate directly with the personnel responsible for the operation of these facilities. The objects themselves must be able to function without threats and pressure," - the message reads.

The publication about the visit of nuclear experts was published by "Energodar Media Center" on Facebook. Locals were surprised why the IAEA would come for a short period even before the referendum. "We would sit for a week and see how people live under shelling and who is shooting at the atomic bomb," they wrote in the comments.

Currently, the occupiers continue provocations at the ZNPP, in Energodar and in the surrounding villages. They are also shelling the banks of the Dnipro. The Ukrainian military wrote about this in one of the Telegram channels: "The answer did not take long, the enemy's fire positions are flying like pies in the market. Believe in the Armed Forces," the message reads.

It will be recalled that during the day of August 28, the Russian military continued to fire at Energodar and the ZNPP site. Then, as a result of the evening attack, at least 10 townspeople were injured, and four ZNPP workers were injured. Yesterday, August 29, the occupiers collected people's signatures for the IAEA to accuse Ukrainians of shelling the nuclear power plant. It also became known where the wind will carry radiation in the next three days in the event of an accident at the ZNPP.

From Informator