Vienna, 3 August 2025 (dpa/MIA) – The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday called for "maximum military restraint near nuclear facilities" following a strike near the nuclear power plant in Ukraine's south-eastern Zaporizhzhya region.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi cited staff at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) as saying an auxiliary facility near the main plant was struck by shelling and drones on Saturday morning.

Grossi said in a statement that the IAEA team deployed to the ZNPP heard explosions and saw smoke coming from the area, which lies 1,200 metres from the main plant's perimeter.

"Any attack in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant – regardless of the intended target – poses potential risks also for nuclear safety and must be avoided," Grossi said.

"Once again, I call for maximum military restraint near nuclear facilities to prevent the continued risk of a nuclear accident."

Located in the Russian-held city of Enerhodar on the southern shore of the Dnipro River, the nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe.

The IAEA has played a central role in protecting and monitoring the condition and safety of Ukraine's nuclear power plants since Russia's full-scale invasion started in 2022.

The agency regularly sends teams of experts to the active reactor sites in the western regions of Rivne and Khmelnytskyi, and has been permanently present at the Zaporizhzhya plant since September 2022.

The site has been under Russian control since March that year.