UN access at Ukraine nuclear plant curbed for safety: Russia

(BSS/AFP) - Russia confirmed Friday it had blocked theUN's nuclear watchdog from accessing parts of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia powerplant, but said it was for safety reasons.
Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been on theground monitoring the plant since September 2022, six months after it wascaptured by Moscow's forces.
Responding to an IAEA statement saying their team had been blocked fromreactor halls, Renat Karchaa, an official at Russia's Rosatom, alleged theytried to access "containment shells".
"A containment shell, and especially a sealed one, is not a museum or an areafor free walks," Karchaa told Russia's RBC news outlet.
"While in 'sealed' mode, personnel access to the containment shells isprohibited and is only permitted with unambiguous justification and inemergency cases," he added.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi had said in a statement Wednesday that experts hadnot been allowed to access reactor halls in three of the plant's units fortwo weeks.
He said the IAEA would continue to request access to the reactor halls, wherethe reactor core and spent fuel are located.
"The content of the latest statement gives us reason to assume that eitherRafael Grossi was not informed fully enough, or the information was submittedby people with low professional training, which is hard to believe," Karchaasaid.
The plant stopped supplying electricity to Ukraine's grid in September 2022,and has been repeatedly rocked by shelling and drone attacks throughout theconflict.