Vienna: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated in a press release that its experts reported hearing hundreds of gunshots late Saturday night near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the statement explained that “the large number of gunshots heard for approximately one hour starting at 10:00 PM local time was unusual,” adding that the Agency is gathering additional information about the incident.

The expert team counted a total of several hundred small arms rounds. During a morning tour of the area, the experts found numerous small-caliber cartridge cases scattered on the ground near Units 5 and 6. The experts did not find any signs of damage to the building.

The statement quoted IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi as saying, “Such military activity at or near a major nuclear power plant is absolutely unacceptable.”

On Saturday evening, Vladimir Rogov, Chairman of the Russian Public Chamber’s Committee on Sovereignty Issues and Co-Chair of the Coordination Council for the Integration of New Territories, told RIA Novosti that Ukrainian forces had opened artillery fire on the town of Kamenka Dniprovskaya, located near the nuclear power plant.

Last Friday night, a Ukrainian Armed Forces kamikaze suicide drone struck the city administration building of Energodar, a town affiliated with the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to Mayor Maxim Pukhov. During a visit to Energodar last Saturday, members of the IAEA team stationed at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were taken to the site and were able to see some of the damage to the top of the building caused by a drone strike.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located on the left bank of the Dnieper River near the city of Energodar. It is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in terms of the number of units and installed capacity. The plant has six power units, each with a capacity of 1 gigawatt. In October 2022, Russia took control of the nuclear plant.