UN atomic watchdog warns of threat to nuclear safety as fighting spikes near plant in Ukraine

By SAMYA KULLAB
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The United Nastions atomic watchdog has reported a spike in fighting near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, warning about a potential threat to nuclear safety amid escalating hostilities as Ukrainian forces continued pressing their counteroffensive on Saturday. The International Atomic Energy Agency said that its experts deployed at the Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reported hearing numerous explosions over the past week, in a possible indication of increased military activity in the region. There was no damage to the plant. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi warned in a statement issued late Friday that he was “deeply concerned about the possible dangers facing the plant.”