VIENNA, August 31. /TASS/. A car convoy of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission left Kiev on Wednesday morning and headed in the direction of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Energodar, Reuters reported, citing an eyewitness.

The time when the IAEA convoy is expected to reach Zaporozhye nuclear power plant was not specified.

The IAEA mission left Vienna on Monday and arrived in Kiev on Tuesday. There, the delegation met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. TASS sources at the UN clarified on Monday that it was through Kiev and Ukraine-controlled territory that the mission would enter the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.

A UN source familiar with the details of the mission told TASS on Tuesday that it includes representatives from ten countries: Albania, China, France, Italy, Jordan, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Serbia, and Northern Macedonia. The delegation is headed by Rafael Grossi, IAEA Director General. The source explained that representatives of Russia and Ukraine were not included in the mission to ensure its neutrality and impartiality. The source also noted that the inspectors would deal with the study of nuclear safety at the plant, but not with political and military issues. The UN representatives only provide assistance in terms of logistics - travel to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant - and security.

The Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, located in the city of Energodar, is under Russian troops’ control. Recently, Ukrainian forces have carried out several strikes on the territory of the plant, using drones, heavy artillery, and multiple rocket launchers. In most cases, the attacks are repelled by air defense systems, but shells have already hit infrastructure and the nuclear waste storage facility area, posing radiation leak threat.