How to avoid a nuclear disaster in Ukraine

The director general of the I.A.E.A., Rafael Mariano Grossi, recently outlined seven indispensable conditions critical for nuclear safety and security, which included the physical integrity of the plant, off-site power supply, cooling systems and emergency preparedness. “All these pillars have been compromised, if not entirely violated, at one point or another during this crisis,” he warned.

The plant — and all other Ukrainian nuclear stations, and all nuclear stations the world round — should ideally be regarded as demilitarized zones. That is essentially what U.N. officials have called for. But that is a tall order in a war of attrition and survival. A more immediate, urgent and achievable goal is for the experts assembled by the International Atomic Energy Agency to enter the plant.

The I.A.E.A., the United Nations and Western leaders have arranged just such a mission. Ukraine and Russia claim they’re for it. But getting mortal enemies to stand back has not proved easy. Instead, the shelling has intensified this month, along with a war of words.