Bombings in the city of Enerhodar, near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, have been ongoing since early Thursday morning, according to regional authorities based in Ukraine and Russia.
“Since 5 am [horário local]the constant mortar shelling has not stopped,” Enerhodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov said in a Telegram post, adding that “helicopters” were circling over the city.
“You can hear automatic weapons. Several civilian installations are known to have been hit. There are victims! We are clarifying how many,” she continued.
The Russian-appointed civil-military administration of Enerhodar also said there were “at least three” civilian casualties and five wounded, including a child.
THE CNN failed to independently verify the claims of either side.
The reports come as a team from the United Nations (UN) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) travels to the nuclear plant for a planned inspection of the facility in southeastern Ukraine, which has been under the control of Russian forces since March. .
In a separate report, the head of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, Oleksandr Starukh, accused Russian forces of “attacking the pre-agreed route of the IAEA mission from Zaporizhzhia to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.”
THE CNN contacted the IAEA regarding any obstacles or safety issues on its pre-arranged route to the plant, but received no response.
Departing the city of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi acknowledged the “inherent risks” his monitoring team would face after leaving the “gray zone” where the last line of Ukrainian defenses ends, but said the mission will persevere.
Source: CNN Brasil
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