VIENNA, December 30. /TASS/. The reserve power line to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant was damaged and shut down due to a shelling Thursday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi announced on the IAEA website Friday.

"A 330 kilovolt (kV) back-up power line to the […] ZNPP was disconnected late yesterday due to damage caused by shelling, in the latest incident underlining the facility’s fragile supplies of electricity from the grid," the statement reads. "The extent of damage was not yet clear but work to repair the line is already under way."

In this regard, Grossi noted that he "is continuing his consultations with Ukraine and Russia aimed at agreeing and implementing a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP as soon as possible."

The Zaporozhye NPP is located in Energodar, its power capacity is about 6 Gigawatts. This is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. In late February, this site was taken under control by Russian forces. Since then, Ukrainian forces periodically shell both Energodar residential areas and the nuclear power plant territory itself using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems.