IAEA says it could visit Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in days

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo

VIENNA (Reuters) -The U.N. nuclear watchdog will visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine within days if talks to gain access succeed, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of firing at the Zaporizhzhia facility, which pro-Moscow forces took over soon after the Feb. 24 invasion. The United Nations has called for the area to be demilitarised.