The correct question is DID Russia deny them access?
Yes. Russian officials made it clear - they don’t want the IAEA because they are coming from Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia’s demand is that they visit the plant by going around and through Russia and Russian-occupied (they call it “liberated”) territory.
But it really is just a game. Putin doesn’t want the world to see his garbage -
Short answer-—YES!
U.N. Team Arrives in Zaporizhzhia Ahead of Nuclear-Plant Inspection
KYIV, Ukraine—United Nations inspectors arrived in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday ahead of an inspection of the nearby Russian-occupied nuclear-power plant, pledging to establish a permanent mission at the southern Ukrainian facility amid fears that fighting in the area could lead to a nuclear disaster.
“The main work begins tomorrow,” said Rafael Grossi, the director general of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency, who is leading the mission. The plant is located in the town of Enerhodar, about 75 miles from Zaporizhzhia. The team was expected to attempt to cross front lines to enter the plant on Thursday.
Asked whether inspectors would be able to speak freely to workers at the plant, Mr. Grossi said: “We are a team of very experienced people. We will have a pretty good idea of what is going on.”
Russian forces have occupied the plant, Europe’s largest, and stationed military equipment there since the early stages of the war, while Ukrainian workers continue to operate it, effectively at gunpoint, according to Ukrainian officials.
The plant has suffered heavy shelling in recent weeks that has damaged its laboratory and chemical facilities, and nearby fires temporarily disconnected it from the country’s power grid. Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the strikes, trading opposing narratives about a plant that Russia has largely closed off from the world since its capture.