IAEA calls for refraining from hostilities near Ukraine's Zaporizhia NPP

KYIV. March 4 (Interfax) - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called on the Russian and Ukrainian Armed Forces to refrain from engaging in hostilities near the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant.

"Director General Grossi appealed for an immediate halt to the use of force at Enerhodar and called on the military forces operating there to refrain from violence near the nuclear power plant," the IAEA said in a statement published on its website on Friday.

"He said the IAEA continues to consult with Ukraine and others with a view to provide maximum possible assistance to the country as it seeks to maintain nuclear safety and security in the current difficult circumstances," it said.

A fire broke out at the Zaporizhia NPP on Friday night, the plant's press service said. The mayor of Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhya region, Dmytro Orlov, confirmed this information on social media.

Later, the press service for the Ukrainian State Emergency Situations Service noted that the fire broke out in the training facility outside the plant.

The Zaporizhia NPP, Europe's largest nuclear power plant in terms of installed capacity, is located in Enerhodar. Its six power units VVER-1000 were built according to the B-320 project. The first unit was commissioned in December 1984, the sixth unit in October 1995.