CNN: Military action increases around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, says IAEA head

Fighting has intensified near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi told CNN on March 28.

Grossi and his team are on their way to visit the nuclear power plant for a second time to assess the situation firsthand.

According to Grossi, the situation is "not getting any better" and the plant has suffered from repeated blackouts.

"Military action continues. In fact, it is increasing. There are growing numbers of troops, and military vehicles, heavy artillery, more military action around the plant," Grossi said, as quoted by CNN.

Europe's largest nuclear power plant, located in the city of Enerhodar on the southern bank of the Dnipro River, has been occupied by Russian troops since March 4.

Officials from Russia's state-owned nuclear energy monopoly Rosatom said that they are ready to speak with Rossi, CNN reported.

The Russian military has utilized the nuclear plant as a military base to launch assaults on Ukraine from the plant's territory.

Russian troops also repeatedly used acts of violence and threats to try and forcibly coerce Ukrainian plant employees into cooperation.

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On nights when he hears them, Mykhailo Kling runs to his panoramic ninth-floor balcony in Nikopol to watch Russian rockets being fired at his hometown. “See the reactor buildings there,” he said, pointing across the wide expanse of the Dnipro River at the eerie shapes of the Zaporizhzhia…

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