On Monday, Ukrainian and Russian-installed officials reported shelling near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, with both sides blaming each other after the International Atomic Energy Agency warned of the danger if the fighting doesn't stop.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling near the plant in recent days amid fears of a nuclear catastrophe at the complex, which dominates the south bank of a vast reservoir on the Dnipro River.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russian soldiers who attack Europe's largest nuclear power station or use it as a base to shoot from will become a special target. The plant is located in the now Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar.
Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of the administration of the Nikopol district, which lies across the river from Enerhodar, blamed Russian forces for shelling the city.
Vladimir Rogov, a Russia-installed official in the city, said that over the past two hours, about 25 heavy artillery strikes from US-made M 777 howitzers had hit near the nuclear plant and residential areas.
According to the Interfax news agency of Russia, Ukrainian forces opened fire with blasts near the power plant, according to the press service of Enerhodar's Russian-appointed administration.
The IAEA, which is trying to get access to the plant, has warned of a possible disaster. Nuclear experts fear that fighting could damage the plant's waste fuel pools or reactors.
The Russians think they can force the world to obey their conditions by shelling the Zaporizhzhia NPP nuclear power plant Andriy Yermak, chief of the Ukrainian presidential staff, on Twitter. Our military will punish them by hard hitting them with precision on pain points.