VIENNA, May 19. /TASS/. The "military situation" around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant (ZNPP) is becoming "increasingly tense," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Friday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that a location near the town of Energodar came under artillery fire on Friday "in the latest incident indicating an increasingly tense military situation in the area."

IAEA experts present at the ZNPP reported that the plant itself was not affected.

The Zaporozhye NPP is located a few kilometers from Energodar. On Friday, Ukrainian forces opened fire on Energodar for the first time in May. At about 6:30 a.m. five hits were recorded near the checkpoint at the entrance to the city. One civilian - a man driving an ambulance - was wounded.

The Zaporozhye NPP, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, was taken under control by Russian forces in late February 2022. Last October, Russian President Vladimir Putin decreed that ZNPP facilities be transferred to Russia’s ownership and ordered the government to establish the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, in order to ensure the safety of its facilities.