Rosatom has controlled the facility through a subsidiary since President Vladimir Putin in October ordered Russia to formally seize the plant and transfer Ukrainian staff to a Russian entity. Kyiv says the transfer of assets amounts to theft.
Kyiv controls territory across the river from the power station, including the regional capital. The Zaporizhzhia plant itself and territory south of it fell to Russia in March.
The IAEA team plans to conduct an assessment on Monday, Grossi said.
The Zaporizhzhia plant provided about a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity before Russia’s invasion, and has been forced to operate on back-up generators a number of times. It has six Soviet-designed VVER-1000 V-320 water-cooled and water-moderated reactors containing Uranium 235.
The reactors are shut down but there is a risk that nuclear fuel could overheat if the power driving the cooling systems is cut. Shelling has repeatedly cut power lines.
Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine fired at power lines supplying the plant. Ukraine’s nuclear energy firm Energoatom said Russia’s military shelled the site, accusing it of nuclear blackmail and actions that were “endangering the whole world”.
“FIERCEST BATTLES”
In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces battered Ukrainian frontline positions with artillery fire, with the heaviest attacks in the Donetsk region, Zelenskyy said in a video address on Sunday evening.
Russia withdrew its forces from the southern city of Kherson this month and moved some of them to reinforce positions in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, collectively known as the Donbas.
“General Armageddon”, as the commander who argued in favour of the withdrawal from Kherson is known, is now under growing pressure to prove it was worth it by making gains in the east.
Ukraine’s military, in an early Monday update, confirmed heavy fighting over the previous 24 hours, saying its forces had repelled Russian attacks in the Donetsk region while Russian forces were shelling the Luhansk region and Kharkiv.
“The fiercest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although there were fewer attacks today due to worsening weather, the amount of Russian shelling unfortunately remains extremely high,” Zelenskyy said.
“In the Luhansk region, we are slowly moving forward while fighting. As of now, there have been almost 400 artillery attacks in the east since the start of the day,” he said.
Reuters was not immediately able to verify the battlefield reports.
In the south, Zelenskyy said troops were “consistently and very calculatedly destroying the potential of the occupiers” but gave no details.
Kherson city remains without electricity, running water or heating.
Russia calls its invasion of Ukraine a “special operation” to demilitarise its neighbour. Kyiv and allies say the invasion is an unprovoked war of aggression.
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