UN atomic watchdog chief returns to Ukraine nuclear plant

UN atomic energy chief Rafael Mariano Grossi on his way to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine (IAEA Press Office via AP)

The head of the UN’s atomic energy watchdog has returned to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a day after saying a deal to protect Europe’s largest nuclear power facility from a catastrophic accident due to the war in Ukraine was “close”.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Mariano Grossi crossed the war’s front lines for a second time to reach the plant, which is located in a partially Russia-occupied part of Ukraine where combat has intensified.