UN nuclear boss visits Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

KYIV : The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog visited the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in southeastern Ukraine on Wednesday as part of efforts to avert the risk of an atomic accident.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrived at Europe's largest nuclear power plant to review the situation there, an IAEA spokesperson said.

"At the plant now," the spokesperson said.

Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the site of the power station over the last year. Grossi has pushing for a safety agreement between Ukraine and Russia to protect the facility.

Grossi told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro that his attempt to broker a deal to protect the nuclear plant was still alive, and that he was adjusting the proposals to seek a breakthrough.

Grossi, who met President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, described the situation at the plant as "very dangerous" and very unstable.

The IAEA has had its own monitors stationed at the Zaporizhzhia plant since last year, when Grossi travelled to the facility and fears were mounting of the possibility for a nuclear accident.