There is a risk of a radioactive leak at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian troops, the Ukrainian state energy operator has said.
Energoatom said Moscow's troops had "repeatedly shelled" the site of the plant in southern Ukraine over the past day, whilst Russia' defence ministry claimed Kyiv's troops were responsible.
"As a result of periodic shelling, the infrastructure of the station has been damaged, there are risks of hydrogen leakage and sputtering of radioactive substances, and the fire hazard is high," Energoatom said on Telegram.
The agency said that as of midday (10am Irish time) the plant "operates with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety standards".
Russia's defence ministry said Ukrainian forces "shelled the territory of the station three times" in the past day.
"A total of 17 shells were fired, four of which hit the roof of Special Building No. 1, where 168 assemblies of US Westing House nuclear fuel are stored," the ministry said in a statement.
(Image: Copernicus Sentinelhub)
It said 10 shells exploded near a dry storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and three more near a building that houses fresh nuclear fuel storage.
It said the radiation situation at the plant remained normal.
Yesterday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the situation at Zaporizhzhia remained "very risky" after two of its six reactors were reconnected to the grid following shelling that caused the nuclear plant to be disconnected for the first time in its history.
Energoatom said yesterday evening that both of the plant's two functioning reactors had been reconnected to the grid and were again supplying electricity after they were fully disconnected on Thursday.
The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, wants to visit the plant in the south of the country and agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Thursday that it was "very, very close" to being able to send officials there.
Energoatom's statement today said its staff at the plant had come under "increased pressure" ahead of the likely visit.
"The (Russians), preparing for the IAEA's visit, have increased pressure on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant's personnel- in order to hush up their testimonies about the crimes of the occupiers at the station and using it as a military base," it said.
The foreign ministers of the G7 countries have previously urged Russia to hand the plant back to Ukraine.
Earlier this month UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said military equipment and personnel should be withdrawn from the plant and called for efforts to ensure it is not the target of military operations.
The Zaporizhzhia facility, Europe's largest, was seized by Russian troops in the opening weeks of the February invasion and has remained on the front line ever since.
'Playing with fire'
Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik has told the Brendan O'Connor Show on RTÉ Radio that her country and the continent of Europe is "one mistake away" from a "terrifying disaster" at Zaporizhzhia.
"We are one Russian soldier away dropping a bomb two metres from where it was intended. This is another psychological pressure that we are living under," said the leader of the Liberal Voice party.
"They (Russia) turned off and separated the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is the largest nuclear plant in the whole of Europe.
"They disconnected it from the Ukrainian electrical grid. It was 10% of our electricity supplies. Right now, they are connecting it to the Russian electricity grid.
"We are extremely concerned with the nuclear plant situation. We have survived Chernobyl. It affected Ukraine of (many) generations.
"Right now, we have this other threat. Nobody in their sane mind would be fighting near the nuclear plant or getting into the nuclear plant.
"It is literally playing with fire and a tragedy that would affect all European countries, I think all of the countries in the world."
Read more: Latest Ukraine stories
Ukraine's armed forces said in a briefing note this morning that it had beaten back Russian assaults on three towns in the eastern region of Donetsk.
All three are on the approach to the larger town of Bakhmut, an important strategic outpost for Ukraine due to its size and road links.
A separate Facebook post by Ukraine's southern command said it had hit Russian air defence systems in Kherson region with air strikes, and that Ukrainian artillery had destroyed two Smerch MLRS systems.
The Russian ministry, in its daily briefing, said it had destroyed a large ammunition depot in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region that had contained US-made HIMARS rocket systems and shells for M777 Howitzers.
The Russian Air Force shot down a MiG-29 aircraft in the eastern Donetsk region, the ministry said, and destroyed another six missile and artillery weapons depots in the Donetsk, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.
Reuters was not able to verify those accounts.
In a potential boost to an internationally brokered agreement that has seen Ukraine resume shipping grains from its Black Sea ports this month, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said today that merchant sailors will be allowed to leave Ukraine if they receive approval from their local military administrative body.
The change would cover male crew members of sea and river vessels, as well as students who need to undertake practical training aboard ships, he added.
Ukrainian men aged 18-60 have largely been barred from leaving Ukraine under a state of martial law imposed as the country battles the Russian invasion.
Women of all ages have been free to leave throughout the war.
President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Russia's neighbour on 24 February saying a "special operation" was needed to demilitarise the country and remove perceived security threats to Russia.
Ukraine and the West have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for an imperialist war of conquest.
