Vienna - Saba:
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced on Saturday that support facilities at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had been subjected to shelling.
In a statement, the agency said that explosions were heard near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and that a support facility close to the plant was attacked.
The plant informed the IAEA team that the facility had been shelled with artillery and drones starting at 9:00 a.m. local time (06:00 GMT), while the IAEA team observed military activity in the area at the same time.
The statement noted that plumes of smoke were seen rising from a facility located approximately 1,200 meters from the nuclear plant.
The statement quoted IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi as saying: "Any attack near a nuclear power plant, regardless of its target, poses a potential threat to nuclear safety and must be avoided."
Grossi urged military forces to exercise the utmost restraint near nuclear facilities in order to prevent the risk of a nuclear accident.