IAEA team to inspect Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant this week

FILE PHOTO: Overview of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and fires, in Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, August 24, 2022. European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery/Handout via REUTERS

KYIV/VIENNA (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog will inspect the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine this week, it said on Twitter on Monday.

The announcement comes after months of negotiations in which the International Atomic Energy Agency sought to gain access to the facility, which Ukrainian staff are operating under the orders of Russian forces, a situation that the IAEA has said threatens the safety of Europe's largest nuclear plant.