ENERGODAR /Zaporozhye region/, September 4. /TASS/. Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are present at the Zaporozhye NPP to ensure an impartial assessment of the situation at the facility, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told reporters at a briefing after his fifth visit to the NPP.

"I was informed that today there was some shelling not far from here. That is why the IAEA experts are here. They are informing the world everyday [about the situation on the NPP - TASS) and this is essential because the information comes from one side or the other. People may believe that there is an interest of one side or the other side to push their cause. When you have the IEAE experts you have an objective view of what is happening," Grossi said.

Located in Energodar, the Zaporozhye nuclear facility, with roughly 6GW of capacity, is the largest of its kind in Europe. Russia took control of the plant on February 28, 2022, in the first days of its special military operation in Ukraine. Since then, units of the Ukrainian army have periodically conducted shelling both of residential districts in nearby Energodar and the premises of the nuclear plant itself, by means of drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS). In most cases, air defense systems repel the attacks, although several times shells hit infrastructure facilities and the vicinity of a nuclear waste storage depot. In order to protect the ZNPP against shelling attacks, engineering structures, forming a safety net of sorts, have been built on its premises.

On August 11, Ukrainian drones delivered two direct strikes on one of the two cooling towers at the Zaporozhye NPP, which resulted in a fire later extinguished by the Emergencies Ministry.

All six units of the Zaporozhye NPP are in the "cold shutdown" state and are not generating electricity. The plant has the required personnel to ensure safe operation, the equipment is maintained in accordance with all necessary regulations under strict control of radiation and nuclear safety standards and under the supervision of IAEA experts.

Grossi first visited the Zaporozhye NPP on September 1, 2022, after which a permanent presence of IAEA experts was established at the plant. Since then, the line-up of the mission has been regularly updated by rotating expert groups.