KYIV, Ukraine, Sept  6, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The UN's atomic watchdog called

Tuesday for a security zone to be set up around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear
power plant, which is occupied by Russia and been the site of recent shelling.

Russian troops seized control of the plant -- Europe's biggest atomic
facility -- in early March and there have been repeated attacks in the
vicinity, sparking fears of a nuclear disaster, as both sides trade blame for
shelling the site.

"The current situation is untenable," the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) said in a report after it sent a team of inspectors to the plant
last week.

"There is an urgent need for interim measures to prevent a nuclear accident
arising from physical damage caused by military means," the IAEA said.

"This can be achieved by the immediate establishment of a nuclear safety
and security protection zone," it added in its report.

"The IAEA recommends that shelling on site and in its vicinity should be
stopped immediately to avoid any further damages to the plant and associated
facilities," it said.

Moscow-installed official in Zaporizhzhia Vladimir Rogov criticised the
idea of a security zone, saying instead what was needed to protect the plant's
integrity was agreement on implementing a ceasefire.

"In other words, if something happens in the perimetre of the nuclear
plant, those who fired will immediately and severely be punished," the Tass
news agency quoted him as saying.

The commissioner for human rights in the Ukrainian parliament Dmytro
Lubinets said the report "pays almost no attention to the facts related to the
safety of the personnel and the war crimes committed by the Russian servicemen
in relation to the employees of the nuclear plant: murder, torture, illegal
arrests and criminal prosecution, etc".

- Humanitarian corridor -

Russia Tuesday accused Ukraine of repeatedly shelling around the nuclear
plant.

There were seven strikes on the territory of the plant, Rogov said on
social media.

"Ukrainian soldiers opened fire on Energodar and its surroundings,"
damaging a power line and reducing the capacity of the last working reactor,
Rogov said.

In the past 24 hours, the territory of the nuclear plant and its
neighbouring city of Energodar were hit 15 times, the Russian defence ministry
said in its daily briefing.

"Kyiv continues its provocations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in
order to create a threat of a man-made disaster," the ministry added.

Radiation levels around the plant are "normal", according to the ministry.

The UN atomic watchdog had sent a 14-person team to the site last week to
assess the situation.

At least two members of the team were to remain on a permanent basis to
ensure the facility's safety.

On Monday, the last working reactor at the embattled nuclear plant was
disconnected from the grid after shelling caused a fire.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk Tuesday called for a
humanitarian corridor to be established for civilians wanting to leave the area
around the nuclear plant.

- Sanctions, drills -

A pro-Kremlin official in the Russian-controlled port city of Berdyansk in
southern Ukraine was "seriously" injured in a car blast Tuesday,
Moscow-installed authorities said.

The car of city commandant Artem Bardin exploded in "the very centre of
Berdyansk", Rogov said on social media, calling the incident a "terrorist
attack".

Bardin is in a "serious condition and has been hospitalised", according to
Rogov.

In the past months, several officials installed by Russian forces in
Moscow-controlled territories in Ukraine have been killed or wounded in attacks.
Kyiv has not formally claimed responsibility.

Ukraine has claimed its first gains in a counter-offensive against the
Russian army in the south, saying it has recaptured several areas and destroyed
multiple targets.

A US official said Tuesday that Russia is buying large amounts of
ammunition from North Korea to replenish stocks depleted by months of intense
fighting in Ukraine.

"The Russian Ministry of Defense is in the process of purchasing millions
of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for use on the battlefield in
Ukraine," the US official said in a statement.

"This purchase indicates that the Russian military continues to suffer from
severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and
sanctions," the official said, on grounds of anonymity.

Western sanctions have made it harder for Moscow to acquire components to
manufacture replacements, including computer chips.

President Vladimir Putin attended large-scale military exercises Tuesday
involving China and several Russia-friendly countries, as Moscow seeks to
strengthen partnerships in Asia in the face of Western sanctions.

And the European Commission laid out Tuesday the new hurdles facing Russian
travellers seeking EU entry visas, in the latest punitive measures taken in
response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Ministers from EU member states agreed last week to suspend the 2007
EU-Russia visa facilitation deal, stopping short of an outright travel ban.