On Wednesday, the Ukrainian government urged people to leave the Russian-occupied territories close to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station for their own safety, Voice of America informed.
The exiled Ukrainian mayor of Enerhodar, the plant’s primary town, claimed in a separate Telegram post that Russian forces were firing on the area and that there was no electricity in the community.
The largest nuclear plant in Europe has been targeted by both Moscow and Kyiv in recent weeks, raising the possibility of another nuclear accident like to the one that occurred at the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine in 1986, Voice of America states.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi called the ongoing attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station “unacceptable” on Tuesday and demanded that a demilitarized zone be established within and around the facility. Last week, Grossi and a group of IAEA inspectors paid a visit to the location.
However, neither Moscow nor Kiev quickly agreed to the Grossi idea because they wanted additional information.
The city of Nikopol, which is located on the other side of the Dnieper River from the nuclear plant, was reportedly bombarded by Russian rockets and heavy artillery on Wednesday, according to Ukrainian regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko.
Heavy fighting was also reported elsewhere, close to Kharkiv, in the industrial Donbas region in the east, and in the Kherson region in the south, where Ukraine has begun a counteroffensive to try to recapture territory that the Russians had taken in the early stages of the conflict.
Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, stated on Wednesday that his nation has gained more autonomy as a result of its military intervention in Ukraine.
Russia entered Ukraine in late February and has since shifted its military attention to the Donbas area, where pro-Russian rebels have been engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces since 2014.