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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant heard explosions and observed smoke coming from a nearby location where nuclear plant officials said an auxiliary facility was attacked Saturday, the UN nuclear watchdog reported.
The facility, located 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) from the plant's perimeter was hit by a shelling and drone strikes starting at 9 a.m. local time (0600 GMT), according to information provided to the IAEA team by ZNPP officials.
The IAEA team reported hearing military activity around the same time as the reported attack began, with smoke from the area remaining visible later in the afternoon.
"The IAEA team at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) heard explosions and saw smoke coming from a nearby location where the plant said one of its auxiliary facilities was attacked today," said IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi in a written statement published on Saturday.
The incident represents the most recent in a series of events in recent weeks and months that underscore nuclear safety risks amid the military conflict at ZNPP, according to the IAEA statement.
Director General Grossi noted the ongoing dangers to nuclear safety regardless of intended military targets by stating: "Any attack in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant – regardless of the intended target – poses potential risks also for nuclear safety and must be avoided."
"Once again, I call for maximum military restraint near nuclear facilities to prevent the continued risk of a nuclear accident," he added.
The IAEA maintains a permanent presence at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to monitor nuclear safety and security conditions amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
The plant, Europe's largest nuclear power facility, has been under Russian control since early in the conflict but continues to be operated by Ukrainian staff under challenging conditions.
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