'Playing with fire': UN warns as team to inspect damage at Ukraine nuclear plant - Reuters

LONDON/LVIV, Ukraine, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The caput of the U.N. atomic watchdog has warned that whoever fired artillery astatine Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness works was "playing with fire" arsenic his squad prepared to inspect it connected Monday for harm from the play strikes.

The attacks connected Europe's biggest atomic powerfulness works successful the southbound of Ukraine came arsenic battles raged successful the east, wherever Russian forces pounded Ukrainian positions on the beforehand line, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

The shelling of the Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness presumption follows setbacks for Russian forces successful the Kherson portion successful the southbound and a Russian effect that has included a barrage of rocket strikes crossed the country, galore connected powerfulness facilities.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said much than a twelve blasts shook the atomic works precocious connected Saturday and connected Sunday. IAEA caput Rafael Grossi said the attacks were highly disturbing and wholly unacceptable.

"Whoever is down this, it indispensable halt immediately. As I person said galore times before, you're playing with fire!" Grossi said successful a statement.

Russia and Ukraine blamed each different for the shelling of the facility, arsenic they person done repeatedly successful caller months aft attacks connected it oregon adjacent it.

Citing accusation provided by works management, an IAEA squad connected the crushed said determination had been harm to immoderate buildings, systems and equipment, but nary of them captious for atomic information and security.

The squad plans to behaviour an appraisal connected Monday, Grossi said, but Russian atomic powerfulness relation Rosenergoatom said determination would beryllium curbs connected what the squad could inspect.

"If they privation to inspect a installation that has thing to bash with atomic safety, entree volition beryllium denied," Renat Karchaa, an advisor to Rosenergoatom's CEO, told the Tass quality agency.

Repeated shelling of the works has raised interest astir a sedate mishap conscionable 500 km (300 miles) from the tract of the world's worst atomic accident, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

The Zaporizhzhia works provided astir a 5th of Ukraine's energy earlier Russia's invasion, and has been forced to run connected back-up generators a fig of times. It has six Soviet-designed VVER-1000 V-320 water-cooled and water-moderated reactors containing Uranium 235.

The reactors are unopen down but determination is simply a hazard that atomic substance could overheat if the powerfulness driving the cooling systems is cut. Shelling has repeatedly chopped powerfulness lines.

Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine fired shells astatine powerfulness lines supplying the works but Ukraine's atomic vigor steadfast Energoatom accused Russia's subject of shelling the site, saying the Russians had targeted infrastructure indispensable to restart parts of the works successful an effort to further bounds Ukraine's powerfulness supply.

'FIERCEST BATTLES'

In eastbound Ukraine, Russian forces battered Ukrainian front-line positions with artillery fire, with the heaviest attacks successful the Donetsk region, Zelenskiy said successful a video address.

Russia withdrew its forces from the confederate metropolis of Kherson this period and moved immoderate of them to reenforce positions successful the eastbound Donetsk and Luhansk regions, an concern country known arsenic the Donbas.

"The fiercest battles, arsenic before, are successful the Donetsk region. Although determination were less attacks contiguous owed to worsening weather, the magnitude of Russian shelling unluckily remains highly high," Zelenskiy said.

"In the Luhansk region, we are dilatory moving guardant portion fighting. As of now, determination person been astir 400 artillery attacks successful the eastbound since the commencement of the day," helium said.

Ukraine's subject successful an aboriginal Monday update confirmed dense warring implicit the erstwhile 24 hours, saying its forces had repelled Russian attacks successful the Donetsk portion portion Russian forces were shelling successful the Luhansk portion successful the eastbound and Kharkiv successful the northeast.

In the south, Zelenskiy said troops were "consistently and precise calculatedly destroying the imaginable of the occupiers" but gave nary details.

Kherson city remains without electricity, moving h2o oregon heating.

Ukraine said connected Saturday that astir 60 Russian soldiers had been killed successful a long-range artillery onslaught successful the south, the 2nd clip successful 4 days that Ukraine has claimed to person inflicted large casualties successful a azygous incident.

Russia's defence ministry said connected Sunday that up to 50 Ukrainian servicemen were killed the erstwhile time on the confederate Donetsk beforehand enactment and 50 elsewhere.

Reuters was not capable to instantly verify immoderate battlefield reports.

Russia calls its penetration of Ukraine a "special operation" to demilitarize and "denazify" its neighbour, though Kyiv and its allies accidental the penetration is an unprovoked warfare of aggression.

Oleh Zhdanov, a subject expert successful Kyiv, said that according to his information, Russian offensives were taking spot connected the Bakhmut and Avdiivka beforehand enactment successful the Donetsk region, among others.

"The force is trying to interruption done our defences, to nary avail," Zhdanov said successful a societal media video. "We combat backmost - they endure immense losses."

Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge successful London, Pavel Polityuk successful Kyiv, Caleb Davis successful Gdansk and David Ljunggren successful Ottawa; Additional reporting by Francois Murphy successful Vienna and Lidia Kelly successful Melbourne; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge, David Ljunggren and Shri Navaratnam; Editing by Robert Birsel

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