BERLIN, July 13. /TASS/. A group of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last night heard hundreds of small arms shots in the vicinity of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the IAEA said.
"The IAEA team at Ukraine’s Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) reported hearing hundreds of rounds of small arms fire last night, the latest sign of military activity potentially threatening nuclear safety and security, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today," the agency said.
Grossi called this situation a potential threat to the nuclear security in the region. Grossi noted that the shooting continued for about an hour from 22:00 local time. The inspectors who witnessed it indicated that such prolonged shooting was unusual.
As a result of an inspection of the surroundings of the plant on Sunday morning, inspectors found numerous small caliber casings near the fifth and sixth blocks of the station. No damage to the infrastructure was recorded.
"Such military activity at or near a major nuclear power plant is clearly unacceptable," Grossi said.