Ukrainian Armed Forces resumed their shelling of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant on August 26 with several shells landing not far from the site where radioactive isotopes are stored, the authorities of the nearest city Energodar have reported.
"Ukrainian 'punishers' continue the global nuclear terror, striking at the territory of [the Zaporozhye] nuclear power plant," Energodar administration's spokesperson stated.
The official said that the infrastructure and key nodes of the plant did not suffer any damage this time and that the radioactive background around the NPP remains within normal levels.
The situation around the Zaporozhye NPP has sparked concerns over nuclear safety in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), with a major nuclear incident not ruled out if hostilities continue. Russia has repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of shelling Energodar and the NPP itself, warning that it could lead to a nuclear disaster that may contaminate the continent.
The IAEA, Russia and France are currently negotiating the possibility of sending the agency's observers to the nuclear power plant. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed the prospects of the IAEA mission to the ZNPP in their recent telephone call. However, the deployment of the agency's observers is still being discussed.