With the war in Ukraine now in its seventh month, the international community remains highly concerned about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. An uptick in fighting in recent weeks near the Russian-occupied facility, Europe's largest, has led to fears of a nuclear accident. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants to send a mission to inspect the plant, but has yet to gain access to it. In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the IAEA, expressed hope that the visit would take place within "days".

Environmental groups say the crippled nuclear plant's decommissioning effort is hopeless. Some local people fear it is not safe to return to communities that were beneath the radioactive plume.