The United Nation's nuclear watchdog has said safety principles at a Russian-controlled power plant in Ukraine "have been violated" and urgent steps are needed to avoid a nuclear accident.
On Tuesday, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi said the safety situation at the Zaporizhzhia — Europe's biggest nuclear power facility — was "completely out of control".
“Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated," Mr Grossi said.
"What is at stake is extremely serious and extremely grave and dangerous.”
Russian forces have occupied the plant since seizing it in early March, but it is staffed by Ukrainians, and the nuclear watchdog said its communication with those staff was patchy.
Mr Grossi pleaded with both Russia and Ukraine to quickly allow a team of inspectors into the plant so they could assess the situation.
Yevgeny Balitsky — the head of the Russian-installed administration of the Zaporizhzhia region — said on Wednesday that a visit from the IAEA was welcomed, claiming Ukrainian forces had repeatedly used Western arms to attack the nuclear facility.
"We are ready to show how the Russian military is guarding the plant, and how Ukraine — which receives weapons from the West — uses those weapons, including drones, to attack the nuclear power plant," Mr Balitsky said.
However, Ukrainian officials said Russia was storing military hardware on the grounds of the power station, while the United States accused Moscow of using the plant as a "nuclear shield", from which to fire on Ukrainian forces.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Russia's actions around the plant "the height of irresponsibility".
"Of course, the Ukrainians cannot fire back, lest there be a terrible accident involving the nuclear plant," he said.
The Zaporizhzhia plant — which has two of six reactors operating — has been the subject of repeated warnings from Ukraine, the West and Russia. It was shelled on March 4.
Russian strike force could be headed to Zelenskyy's hometown
Ukraine said on Wednesday that Russia had started creating a military strike force aimed at President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih and warned that Moscow could be preparing new offensive operations in southern Ukraine.
Russia holds regions of Ukraine's south that it captured in the early phases of its February 24 invasion, but Kyiv has said it would mount a counter-offensive.
On Tuesday, Kyiv said it had already recaptured 53 villages in the occupied Kherson region.
The steel-producing city of Kryvyi Rih — where Zelenskyy grew up — lies around 50 kilometres from the southern frontline.
"[Russia] has begun creating a strike group in the Kryvyi Rih direction," the southern military command said.
"It's also quite likely that the enemy is preparing a hostile counter-offensive, with the subsequent plan of getting to the administrative boundary of Kherson region."
Ukraine has been trying to ratchet-up pressure on Russia's positions in the strategically important Black Sea region of Kherson and has used Western-supplied long-range weapons to conduct strikes on Russian supply lines and ammunition dumps.
In a statement, Ukraine's military said that Russian forces were scoping out basements in the region, to turn them into bomb shelters to store military hardware.
Russia has not claimed any major territorial gains in its invasion since it claimed to have captured Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region around a month ago.
Ukraine says grain deal will not lead to broader negotiations
On Wednesday, Ukraine dismissed comments by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that Russia wanted a "negotiated solution" to the war and said any dialogue would be contingent on a Russian ceasefire and withdrawal of its troops.
Mr Schroeder — a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and increasingly derided in Germany for his pro-Russia stance — said last month's agreement on grain shipments from Ukraine, aimed at easing a global food crisis, might offer a way forward.
The first grain ship since the war began more than five months ago passed through the Bosphorus Strait on Wednesday en route to Lebanon.
"The good news is that the Kremlin wants a negotiated solution," Mr Schroeder told German media, adding he had met Mr Putin in Moscow last week.
"A first success is the grain deal. Perhaps that can be slowly expanded to a ceasefire."
In response, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak described Mr Schroeder as a "voice of the Russian royal court" and made clear that the grain agreement would not lead to broader negotiations.
In a video address on Wednesday night, Mr Zelenskyy also responded bitterly to the notion of talks with Russia.
"It is simply disgusting when former leaders of major states with European values work for Russia, which is at war against these values," Mr Zelenskyy said.
Tentative attempts at peace talks in March went nowhere.
ABC/wires
