INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
UN inspectors arrived at a Russian-held nuclear plant in southern Ukraine Thursday despite an early shelling attack, as the ICRC warned the
consequences of a strike on the facility could be "catastrophic".After crossing the frontline into Russian-held territory, the 14-strong
assistance mission to #Zaporizhzhya (ISAMZ) led by Director General Rafael Grossi has just arrived at Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant to
conduct indispensable nuclear safety and security and safeguards activities," it said.Wearing bright blue flak jackets and helmets, they had
vowed to press ahead to reach Europe's biggest nuclear facility despite early-morning shelling in the area that forced the closure of one of
its six reactors.Energoatom, Ukraine's nuclear agency, said it was "the second time in 10 days" that Russian shelling had forced the closure
southern banks of the Dnipro River, has suffered repeated shelling, with both sides blaming the other, sparking global concern over the risk
of an accident.'Stop playing with fire'"It is high time to stop playing with fire and instead take concrete measures to protect this
that we will regret for decades."After Russian forces seized the plant on March 4, Energoatom shut two reactors, followed by a third after
was going to inspect the plant because the stakes were "immense"."When hazardous sites become battlegrounds, the consequences for millions
We have a very important mission to accomplish."Shelling, saboteurs and back-to-schoolThe town of Energodar which is located next to the
plant came under sustained attack at dawn, with Russian troops firing "mortars and using automatic weapons and rockets", its mayor Dmytro
presence" at the facility "to prevent a nuclear accident and preserve the largest nuclear power plant in Europe".Ukraine has accused Russia
the nearby region of Kherson to retake areas seized by Russia at the start of the invasion.In its morning update, the presidency said "heavy
explosions continued for the last 24 hours" across Kherson, while five people were killed and 12 others wounded in the eastern Donetsk
completely destroyed.Just over half of the 23,000 institutions surveyed by the ministry are equipped with bomb shelters, meaning they can
due to constant Russian shelling, the mayor said last month, with a British charity charging Thursday that dozens of its schools had been
with researchers finding the shelling "was targeted, rather than a by-product of indiscriminate attacks on civilian
infrastructure".Meanwhile, the Kremlin denounced as "ridiculous" the decision by EU foreign ministers to suspend a 2007 visa facilitation
deal with Russia over the Ukraine conflict.Ministers agreed the measure on Wednesday but stopped short of closing its borders to all
