For the first time since the beginning of the war more than six months ago, a team of international experts has arrived at Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhia in southern Ukraine.

The observer mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wants to get an idea of ​​the conditions in the nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian troops since March.

The power plant with a total of six reactors is constantly under fire.

The two warring parties blame each other for this.

Internationally, there is increasing concern that a nuclear incident could occur.

According to the IAEA and the Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom, which operates the power plant, the team arrived in Zaporizhia around 2:15 p.m. local time on Thursday.

The power plant had been shelled just an hour earlier, Energoatom reported.

According to media reports, the IAEA convoy had to stop several times to avoid coming under fire.

IAEA boss Rafael Grossi emphasized on departure in the morning that he was aware of the dangers.

But the mission is too important to call off at the last moment.

The Russian news agency RIA Novosti published a video purporting to show the arrival of the UN vehicles at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.

Shortly before the arrival of the IAEA delegation, the town of Enerhodar, which is close to the nuclear power plant, was shelled again.

Ukrainians and Russians blamed each other.

"The shelling from grenade launchers has been heard since five o'clock in the morning," wrote the escaped Ukrainian mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, on Telegram.

Several civilian objects were hit, and there were also dead.

The agreed route, which the expert commission was supposed to take from the city of Zaporizhia to the nuclear power plant 120 kilometers away, is also under fire, wrote the governor of the region, Olexandr Starukh, on Twitter.

In the morning, the authorities also reported that the city was without electricity.

On the other hand, the representative of the Russian occupiers, Vladimir Rogov, reported on Telegram that Enerhodar had been under fire from Ukrainian artillery since the early morning.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that an attempted attack by Ukrainian troops on the nuclear power plant had been repelled.

Around 60 men got out of boats on the banks of the Kachowka reservoir about three kilometers away from the plant and tried to take the power plant.

Ukrainian stormtroopers were spotted near Enerhodar.

Energoatom announced on Thursday morning that one of two reactors still in operation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant had been shut down after Russian shelling.

The emergency system was activated after mortar fire and reactor number 5 was shut down.

Reactor number 6 continues to produce electricity that the nuclear power plant needs for its own operation.

In addition, Energoatom announced that the employees were being subjected to repression by the Russian occupiers.

Several employees who are not well-disposed towards the Russians have disappeared.

The group of experts, headed by IAEA Secretary General Grossi, is to check the condition of the plant with its six reactors, the conditions under which the Ukrainian operating team is working and whether all the nuclear material can still be found on site.

Russian soldiers are in the nuclear power plant.