The head of the United Nations atomic watchdog says he is ready to travel to Chernobyl for talks on safeguarding Ukraine's nuclear facilities, APA reports citing CNN.
International Atomic Energy Agency director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi was speaking after a Russian attack was blamed for starting a fire which Ukraine said damaged a reactor building at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine's south.
Mr Grossi said Ukrainian and Russian officials were considering an offer of a meeting at Chernobyl, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
He said he was willing to be there to offer assistance.
Mr Grossi was speaking after Russian forces took control of the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station, after a fierce battle in which a five-storey building was set on fire.
He confirmed that the building hit was a training centre and "not part of the reactor" and that it was struck by a "projectile" fired by the Russian forces.
No radioactive material was released, but two people were injured in the fire that broke out at the plant, he added.
An adviser to Ukraine's President accused Russia of "blackmailing" the world with a nuclear catastrophe by deciding to attack the site.
The reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine are safe despite coming under attack from Russian forces, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
A fire at the facility sparked fears of a potential accident, but the IAEA says no radioactive material was released.
The plant has since been "occupied" by Russian forces.
However, the plant's operator and regulator told the IAEA that the situation on the ground is “extremely tense and challenging,” he warned.
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