UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi said on Friday he plans to issue a report on the safety of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine early next week.
Speaking at a news conference upon his return to Vienna, Grossi said six International Atomic Energy Agency staff members remain at Zaporizhzhia, Europe's largest nuclear plant, after he led a 14-person mission there. He added that the number would be reduced to two next week and those two would be the IAEA's continuous presence there in the longer term.
Ukraine said it hit targets in region where IAEA team is working
Ukraine's military said it had carried out strikes against Russian positions in the region around the southern town of Enerhodar on Friday, near a nuclear power plant where UN experts are working.
The revelation by the armed forces' general staff was unusual, since the military rarely gives details of specific targets. A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency is gathering data at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, on the edge of Russian-occupied Enerhodar.
"It has been confirmed that in the region around the towns of Kherson and Enerhodar, precise strikes by our armed forces destroyed three enemy artillery systems as well as a warehouse with ammunition and up to a company of soldiers," the general staff said in a Facebook post.
It did not give more details about the strikes. Kherson is about 300 km (185 miles) south-west of Enerhodar.
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of shelling the nuclear power plant. Kyiv rejects the charge, saying pro-Moscow forces are responsible for attacking the facility.