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Russia tells UN inspectors rocket performed '180-degree' flip to land at Zaporizhzhia plant

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Russia tells UN inspectors rocket performed '180-degree' flip to land at Zaporizhzhia plant

ARussian handler told UN inspectors that a rocket made a 180-degree turn before impact close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in an attempt to convince them it had not been fired from Russian-held territory.

Russian officials try to explain the rocket's trajectory to Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, in the hard hat

Russian officials try to explain the rocket's trajectory to Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, in the hard hat© Provided by The Telegraph

Renat Karchaa, a Russian nuclear expert, told the bemused group from the International Atomic Energy Agency that the cluster munition made a sudden U-turn just before smashing into the ground.

Video shared online on Friday showed him gesturing to indicate the missile's alleged sharp change in direction, after he was challenged by inspectors on the origins of the shelling.

"It fled from here and this is the direction of Nikopol," said Mr Karchaa, who was escorting the delegation. "It did a U-turn. In principle, it landed and spun around."

The small city of Nikopol, which is under Ukrainian control, lies across the Dnipro River from the Zaporizhzhia plant. 

Zaporizhzhia - /Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP
Zaporizhzhia - /Russian Defense Ministry Press Service/AP© Provided by The Telegraph
 Zaporizhzhia - YURI KOCHETKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Zaporizhzhia - YURI KOCHETKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock© Provided by The Telegraph

But the rocket appeared to have been fired at the Russian-occupied facility from the opposite direction, from territory also held by Russian forces. 

"Everyone working in the plant knows [the rocket] is Russian," a former Ukrainian employee told the Telegraph. "It cannot fly and make a U-turn."

Meanwhile, Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defence minister, said his forces "do not have heavy weapons in the area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant".

But Ukraine said on Friday it had bombed a Russian base in Enerhodar, where the plant is located, to destroy artillery systems.

Both countries have accused one another of shelling the facility in order to use the threat of nuclear disaster as a form of blackmail. 

Ukraine - D CANDANO LARIS/IAEA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Ukraine - D CANDANO LARIS/IAEA HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock© Provided by The Telegraph

After weeks of negotiations, safety inspectors from the IAEA, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, managed to reach the Zaporizhzhia power plant on Thursday amid fears of a nuclear disaster.  

Despite the threat of attacks on the plant, the IAEA announced that its team would remain at the site.  

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to Vienna, said six of the 14 IAEA inspectors had stayed behind and two more would remain there "on a permanent basis".

After visiting the plant on Thursday, Rafael Grossi, head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, warned that the integrity of the facility had been "violated".

Footage filmed by pro-Russian journalists showed his team of 14 inspectors being shown around the plant by Mr Karchaa, an advisor to Rosatom, Russia's state-run nuclear firm. 

Zaporizhzhia - YURI KOCHETKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Zaporizhzhia - YURI KOCHETKOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock© Provided by The Telegraph

After his role as tour guide, Mr Karchaa was sanctioned by the Ukrainian government alongside other Rosatom officials.

"The whole world watched him conduct a tour for the IAEA mission to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, misinforming at every turn," said German Galushchenko, Ukraine's energy minister.

Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's president, said he hoped the mission would bear fruit, but called on the IAEA to back "demilitarisation" of the plant.

"This is key to protecting all of us, all Europeans, from a radiation disaster," he added on Friday.

Gabrielius Landsbergis, Lithuania's foreign minister, called for an international intervention to demilitarise the Russian-occupied plant.

"Putin is now one rocket away from causing a much bigger tragedy at Zaporizhzhia. The only way to prevent this is an internationally enforced safe zone now," he wrote on Twitter.

Ukraine's state nuclear operator said on Friday that a second reactor had been reconnected to the power grid after it was shut down because of Russian shelling.

"As of now, two power units are operating at the station producing electricity for Ukraine's needs," Energoatom said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Pro-Russian officials, in turn, claimed that Ukrainian forces "did not stop" shelling during the IAEA's visit.

Alexander Volga, a Russian official in Enerhodar, said that the IAEA team "was provided with relevant documents on the nuclear power plant, as well as a map of shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine".

But Energoatom accused Russia of "making every effort to prevent the IAEA mission from getting to know the facts on the ground" at the plant.

Moscow seized the Zaporizhzhia power plant, Europe's largest, in the early days of the invasion.

Fighting around the facility has prompted warning of a nuclear disaster, but experts say chances of a radiation leak are slim.

The plant's reactors are designed to prevent a Chernobyl-style meltdown and are protected by domes that could withstand an aeroplane crash.

Damage to external power lines, however, raised fears that the plant's cooling system could fail. 

Reference: The Telegraph: Joe Barnes

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