ENERGODAR, August 15./TASS/. The background radiation is within normal limits in the area of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the chief council of the Zaporozhye Region military-civilian administration, said on Monday.

"The news of an urgent evacuation from Energodar is spreading fast, that tens of thousands of residents are fleeing from here, that there is a traffic jam. Here is the exit, there are no cars there. The news is spreading that there was a radiation release at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, that there is an exclusion zone there," the official said.

"The natural radiation background for this area is 0.09-0.12 mcSv/h. It is measured with an IMD-7 device. The readings are 0.110 mcSv/h. There is no release and peaceful life continues," he said.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine on Monday made about 25 strikes from American M777 howitzers at Energodar and the area of the Zaporozhye NPP. Earlier on Monday, the military-civilian administration of Energodar reported massive artillery shelling of the city by the Ukrainian troops. Explosions were reported in the area of the NPP, in bedroom suburbs of the city and in the industrial zone.

Located in the city of Energodar, the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is controlled by Russian troops. In recent days, Ukrainian forces delivered several strikes at its territory using unmanned aerial vehicles, heavy artillery and multiple rocket launch systems. It most cases, such attacks are repelled by air defense systems but several shells hit infrastructure facilities and the vicinity of the nuclear waste storage.

The Zaporozhye NPP is Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant. With a capacity of around 6,000 megawatt, it generated a fourth of Ukraine’s electricity. Since 1996, it was part of Ukraine’s Energoatom generating company. In March 2022, control over the nuclear plant came over to Russian forces. Now, the plant is operating at 70% of its capacity due to the oversupply of electricity on the liberated territories of the Zaporozhye region.