A new monitoring mission from the U.N. nuclear watchdog arrived on Saturday at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, Russia's Rosatom company said, after weeks of delay caused by military activity around the site.

Moscow's troops seized Europe's largest nuclear power station shortly after its invasion and later barred Ukrainian staff who refused to take Russian nationality or sign Russian contracts. The facility close to the front line has since become the target of repeated strikes.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent Rikard Jozwiak and Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom have reported a new rotation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts arriving at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP),

Ukraine's energy minister has criticized a U.N. nuclear watchdog mission visiting the Russia-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant via occupied land, citing its violation of Ukraine's sovereignty. A letter from Ukraine urges the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure compliance with the law and consult Ukrainian authorities before proceeding.

Ukraine said on Sunday it condemned a "breach of territorial sovereignty" by employees of the U.N. nuclear watchdog who visited the Russia-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine via Russian-occupied territory.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has condemned the rotation of IAEA experts at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) via Russian-occupied

The statement came hours after Russian occupation authorities claimed that a rotation of IAEA personnel had taken place through Russian-controlled territory.

Russian troops seized the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest with six reactors, in the first weeks of their February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It produces no electricity at the moment.

International atomic monitors are for the first time traveling through Russian territory rather than Ukraine to reach Europe’s biggest nuclear-power plant, said three diplomats briefed on the matter — a blow to Kyiv’s desire to avoid international recognition of the Kremlin’s ownership claims.

A new team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on March 1, marking the first time the agency's monitors reached the site through the occupied territory.