UN nuclear agency seeks more access to the plant that Kyiv and Moscow say is under threat

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The head of the UN nuclear agency, the IAEA, says he’s pushing for access to the rooftops of reactors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. That’s after reports from Ukrainian officials that the Russians planted explosives there. In turn, Russia has accused Ukraine of planning to sabotage the plant. Neither side has provided evidence of an imminent attack. Russia has controlled the plant since seizing it in March 2022, in the first weeks of the war. The complex has come under repeated shelling and the IAEA has warned of the risk of a nuclear accident. IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi told the AP Friday that he’s optimistic his agency will be granted more access.