U.N. inspectors reach nuclear plant caught in crossfire of Ukrainian and Russian fighting

Judy Woodruff:

In Ukraine, nuclear inspectors are now inside an endangered power plant. They arrived today to assess damage from fighting around the site.

Lisa Desjardins has our report.

Lisa Desjardins:

Inside a war zone, a mission to avert disaster. U.N. nuclear experts today made it to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest, a place caught in the crossfire of Ukrainian and Russian shelling.

Zaporizhzhia rests along the Dnipro River inside a battle zone. It is currently held by Russians, but operated by Ukrainians. Both sides agreed to access by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA. Its six reactors make this plant particularly perilous.

Rafael Grossi, Director General, IAEA:

Weighing the pros and conservative, and having come so far, we are not stopping. We are moving now.

Lisa Desjardins:

Fighting near the plant has gone on for six months, since the start of the war, sparking international outcry…

Lisa Desjardins:

… and fears of a meltdown that would dwarf Chernobyl.

Just today, shelling shut down one reactor and set off emergency procedures. Russians publicly are stressing stability.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister (through translator):

We are doing everything to ensure that this plant is safe and for the IAEA mission there to carry out all its plans.

Lisa Desjardins:

After assessing the threat, the IAEA says a team will stay there, in hopes of demilitarizing the plant and avoiding a wide-scale tragedy.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.