“The day has come,” Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Monday, marking the start of his journey to Europe’s largest nuclear plant in the line of fire between Russian occupiers and Ukrainian forces.  .   

  On Thursday, a team of 14 inspectors led by Grossi arrived at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (NPP) in southern Ukraine, despite concerns about continued shelling in the area.   

  Since early March, when Russia seized the plant, international and local experts have voiced dire warnings, not only for the safety of the plant’s workers, but also for fear of a nuclear disaster that could affect thousands of people in the surrounding area.   

  Here’s a closer look at the dangerous situation at the factory:   

  Ukraine relies heavily on nuclear power – about half of its electricity comes from 15 nuclear reactors at four plants across the country, according to the World Nuclear Association.   

  The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, with six reactors, is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.  It was mostly built in the Soviet era and became the property of Ukraine after it declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.   

  Until recently, only two reactors were connected to Ukraine’s national grid and providing power, although the units have been shut down at various points – and for various reasons – since the invasion.   

  The Zaporizhzhia NPP is located on the east bank of the Dnipro River in Ukraine.  The area and the nuclear complex have been under Russian control since the beginning of the war, but the plant is still operated primarily by Ukrainian workers.   

  At the start of the invasion, Ukrainian forces prevented Russian forces from seizing a second nuclear facility – the Southern Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant – and forced them to retreat to Dnipro, according to Petro Kotin, president of Energoatom, which runs nuclear power plants in Ukraine.  .  The front line hasn’t moved much in months.   

  Each of Zaporizhzhia’s reactors would cost $7 billion to replace, making the plant a target for the Russians to seize intact, with hopes of serving its own electricity market, according to an analysis by defense and security intelligence firm Janes.  If Russia maintains it, Ukraine would lose 20% of its domestic electricity production capacity.   

  Shelling in surrounding towns as well as near the power plant is common, according to local reports.   

  Ukraine has accused Russian forces of stockpiling weapons and launching attacks from the plant, knowing Ukraine cannot return fire without risking hitting the nuclear facility.  Russia in turn claims that Ukrainian forces are targeting the site.   

  The international community is on high alert about nuclear safety, but experts believe a Chernobyl-style disaster is unlikely.  The plant is equipped with modern safety systems, which means that even if there was negligence in its maintenance or serious military action caused serious damage, the result would be more comparable to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima – which was contained locally, according to Janes and Energoatom.  .   

  However, risks remain, one of which is potential damage to the nuclear waste stored openly at the site – in water ponds and barrels, according to Energoatom’s Kotin.   

  Kotin has also warned that Russian efforts to switch the plant from the Ukrainian to the Russian power grid would require disconnecting all reactors from power for a period of time, relying on emergency power generation that would never fail – a “very dangerous” prospect, he told CNN.  in an interview on August 22.   

  The plant’s main exclusion zone, where the reactors and nuclear fuel are located, is surrounded by the Dnipro waters to the northwest and the town of Enerhodar to the east.   

  The satellite image below highlights the factory facilities, which are vital to the accompanying timeline of events from the start of the war.  They show how narrowly Zaporizhzhia NPP has avoided a nuclear disaster.

Basic developments in the factory since the start of the war

March 4, 2022

Russian troops are taking control of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (NPP), with operators working at gunpoint, according to Ukrainian nuclear officials. Russian shelling damaged buildings around a nuclear reactor, and Ukrainian authorities say a fire broke out at a training center outside the main site. The UN’s atomic energy agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), condemns the move. Smoke rises from the administrative buildings at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on March 5, 2022. (IAEA/Energoatom via Telegram)

March 6

UN and Ukrainian nuclear regulators are losing lines of reliable communication with plant workers as Russia shuts down some mobile phone networks and the internet at the plant.

March and beyond

Two of the plant’s six reactors are active. Meanwhile, the front line – along the Dnipro River on which the plant is located – has moved little since early March. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russian forces of stockpiling heavy weaponry inside the compound and using it as cover to launch attacks. Russian military patrols the grounds of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant on May 1. (Andrey Borodulin/AFP/Getty Images)

April 2nd

At least four people were injured in explosions amid protests against Russian occupation in Enerhodar, the town closest to the Zaporizhia plant. Gunfire and explosions disperse a crowd in Enerhodar, Ukraine on April 2. (from Telegram)

April 26

Two guided missiles hit the town of Zaporizhzhia, less than 40 miles northeast of the plant. Energoatom claims the missiles flew at low altitudes directly over the nuclear power plant. This is one of many local reports of hostilities in the factory area. A plume of smoke rises behind a residential building after rocket attacks in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on April 26. (Albert Koshelev/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty Images)

June 6

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Raphael Grossi, says he is determined to send a mission of IAEA experts to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to assess operational safety and working conditions. The IAEA spent weeks negotiating a trip with Ukraine and Russia.

July 19

A Ukrainian drone strike targets a Russian tent complex inside the plant’s main security exclusion zone, including a parked BM-21 ‘Grad’ missile launcher. The attack resulted in a fire, but did not damage the reactors or fuel storage areas. Smoke billows upwards as soldiers run from tents at the central site of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, Enerhodar, Ukraine. (Defense Intelligence Service of Ukraine)

5-6 Aug

The explosions, which were reported near an electrical panel, caused a reactor to temporarily shut down, the IAEA said. Separately, the missiles struck about 30 to 60 feet from a dry storage facility that held barrels of spent nuclear fuel, according to Energoatom. Ukraine and Russia continue to accuse each other of bombing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in early August. A missile fragment is seen near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on territory under Russian military control, according to a video photo released by the Press Service of the Russian Defense Ministry on August 7. (Press Service of the Russian Ministry of Defense/AP)

August 11

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi tells the UN Security Council that the situation has “deteriorated rapidly to the point of being very worrying”. Ukraine’s representative accuses Russia of resorting to “manipulation and unjustified conditions for the on-site visit”, despite public statements of cooperation. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi addresses the United Nations Security Council via video conference on August 11 at UN headquarters. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

August 12

Ukrainian authorities say the Ukrainian-controlled towns of Nikopol and Marhanets, across the Dnipro River from the plant, have been attacked by Russian rockets for several nights in a row.

20-22 Aug

The shelling destroyed laboratory and chemical facilities inside the main factory complex and caused a temporary power outage from a backup thermal power station nearby, the IAEA said, citing Ukrainian officials.

August 24

Kyiv says that since March, three Ukrainian workers have been killed by the Russian military and at least 26 others have been detained on charges of leaking information.

August 25-26:

Ukraine informs the IAEA that a power outage has disconnected all six reactors from the national grid for the first time in the plant’s history after the last remaining power line was destroyed. By August 27, it had been repaired. A satellite image shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and fires near Enerhodar on August 24. (European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2 Images/Reuters)

Around August 28th

Authorities in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia are handing out iodine tablets to residents as concern grows over a possible nuclear accident: the pills protect users from radioactive iodine and help prevent thyroid cancer. Zaporizhzhia residents queue at the local administration office to receive iodine tablets in the city’s eastern Khortytskyi district on August 29. (Dmytro Smolienko/Reuters)

September 1

After a hard-fought deal with Ukrainian and Russian officials, a team of 14 international nuclear inspectors, including IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, arrives at the plant after a perilous journey. Hours earlier, Energoatom accused Russia of bombing the plant, shutting down the fifth reactor and activating the emergency protection system. International Atomic Energy Agency and United Nations personnel prepare to depart for Zaporizhia from a hotel in Kyiv,…