Ukraine regaining control over Chernobyl NPP 'step in right direction', lot of work yet to be done - IAEA head

BRUSSELS. April 1 (Interfax) - While a lot of work has yet to be done at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) to ensure its safety and security, the fact that control over the plant has been returned to Ukrainian specialists is "a step in the right direction," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said.

"We see this as a step in the right direction. We are going to be there very soon, because in Chernobyl there is a lot of work to be done," Grossi said at a press conference in Vienna, in commenting on the situation at the Chernobyl NPP.

Ukraine informed the IAEA earlier on Friday that it fully regained control of the Chernobyl NPP, with the transfer formalized "in written form." The IAEA website said citing Kyiv that two columns of Russian troops earlier deployed at the NPP site moved toward Belarus. Another Russian military column left Slavutych, a town where the NPP personnel live, and also moved toward Belarus.