‘Stop this madness’ says UN chief after shelling at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned 'you're playing with fire'

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine. AFP

The UN's atomic watchdog chief on Sunday called for a "a stop to this madness" after shelling on Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, as Kyiv and Moscow traded blame.

"The news from our team yesterday and this morning is extremely disturbing," Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said on Sunday.

"Explosions occurred at the site of this major nuclear power plant, which is completely unacceptable.

"Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately. As I have said many times before, you're playing with fire."

There were more than a dozen blasts over Saturday night, some of which a team of experts from the agency were witness to, the IAEA said.

Mr Grossi told French broadcaster BFMTV later on Sunday it was clear that the strikes on the plant were no accident.

"The people who are doing this know where they are hitting. It is absolutely deliberate, targeted," he said.

The IAEA is to send a team of experts to the plant, which is the biggest nuclear plant in Europe. It is controlled by Russian troops.

Ukraine capital Kyiv hit by kamikaze drones - in pictures

Firefighters in action after a drone fired on buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A drone approaches for an attack in the Ukraine capital. AFP

A police officer fires at a drone flying overhead. AFP

Smoke rises from a building after a drone attack. AFP

A Ukrainian serviceman takes cover as an air-raid siren sounds. Reuters

Debris near the site of a drone attack. AFP

Police stand guard as smoke rises from buildings. Reuters

A drone in the sky seconds before it fired on buildings. AP

Plumes of smoke rise after a Russian drone strike. Reuters

Ukraine meanwhile dismissed Moscow's accusations that its soldiers had killed Russian troops as they were surrendering, in what Moscow has described as a "war crime".

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's commissioner for human rights said on Sunday that extracts from the video footage in question showed that Russian troops used a "staged surrender" to open fire on Ukrainian soldiers.

"In this case, persons among the Russian servicemen cannot be considered prisoners of war, but are those who are fighting and committing treachery," Mr Lubinets said.

"Returning fire is not a war crime. On the contrary, those who want to use the protection of international law to kill must be punished."

Ukraine war latest - in pictures

Smoke rises on the outskirts of the city during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters

Workers surround the Monument to the Heroes of the Heavenly Hundred with sandbags against damage from shelling in Mykolaiv. EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev for talks before a meeting between the Russian president and the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia. AFP

People take water from a water pump in Kyiv. EPA

A woman walks past a damaged building in the town of Nova Kakhovka. Reuters

A woman outside her home, which was destroyed during battles at the start of the conflict, in Yahidne, Chernihiv. Getty Images

People shelter inside a subway station during a Russian missile attack in Kyiv. Reuters

Firefighters at the site of a drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

A woman walks past the site of a Russian missile strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Reuters

Rescuer workers at a building destroyed in an attack in Mykolaiv. Reuters

Parts of a drone lie on a street in Kyiv. Reuters

A drone flies over the Ukrainian capital during an attack. AFP

Ukrainian servicemen tow a captured Russian armoured vehicle in Rudneve village, Kharkiv. EPA

A partially destroyed residential building in Saltivka, in Kharkiv. AP

Ukrainian servicemen fire a captured Russian howitzer on a front line near Kupyansk city, Kharkiv. EPA

Ukrainian servicemen near the recently retaken town of Lyman in Donetsk region. AFP

An officer from a Ukrainian national police emergency demining team prepares to detonate collected anti-tank mines and explosives near Lyman, in the Donetsk region. AFP

A boy playing on a destroyed Russian tank on display in Kyiv. AFP

A young couple hiding underground during an air alert in Zaporizhzhia. AFP

Ukrainian firefighters looking for survivors after a strike in Zaporizhzhia. AFP

Workers fix a banner reading 'Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!' to the State Historical Museum near Red Square in Moscow. AFP

Residents try to cross a destroyed bridge in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AFP

Alyona Kishinskaya helps to clean up a shop as it prepares to reopen in Balakiya, Ukraine, after a six-month Russian occupation. Getty Images

Alla, 12, has a swinging time in Balakiya, Ukraine, as life goes on despite the war. Getty Images

Ukrainian flags in the town square in Balakiya. Getty Images

A destroyed Russian command centre in Izium, Ukraine. Getty Images

In what may be a final farewell, young Russian recruits - escorted by their wives - walk to a train station in Volgograd before being sent to war in Ukraine. AP

Russian recruits board the train to Ukraine in Volgograd. AP

Ukrainian soliders drive a tank at the recently retaken eastern side of the Oskil River in Kharkiv region, Ukraine. AFP

Volunteers pass boxes of food aid on a destroyed bridge over the Oskil River. AFP

Ukrainian soliders rest on an armoured personnel carrier. AFP

A sign warns of landmines in Izyum, eastern Ukraine. AFP

This crater was left after a missile strike in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. AFP

Video circulated on Russian social media last week purported to show the bodies of Russian servicemen killed after surrendering to Ukrainian troops.

The videos have not been independently verified.

A UN spokesman told AFP on Friday that the world body was "aware of the videos" and "looking into them".

Meanwhile In the southern city of Kherson, which Ukrainian troops recently recaptured, residents were facing a new challenge after eight months of occupation by Moscow's troops — Russian artillery attacks.

After Russian shells pounded the industrial area next to their home, setting fire to an oil depot there, Yuri Mosolov and his wife decided it was time to leave.

"After yesterday's shelling, my wife said: 'Let's not take too many risks and go'," Mr Mosolov said.

A carefully planned campaign by Kyiv against logistics networks, bridges and pontoon crossings battered Russian supply lines and forced their troops to abandon the city and retreat to the Dnipro's eastern bank.

Now the armies are increasingly engaging in heavy artillery exchanges across the river.

"Artillery duels are still going on. The combat continues," said Dmytro Pletenchuk, the Ukrainian military's spokesman in the area. "Kherson is now on the frontline."

Antonov AN-225 destroyed by Russia in Ukraine - in pictures

The wreckage of an Antonov AN-225, the world's biggest aircraft, sits under a steel shelter at Gostomel airfield near Kyiv in April 2022. EPA

The cargo plane, named Mriya (which means Dream in Ukrainian), was destroyed during a heavy battle with Russian troops at the airfield earlier this year. Reuters

The Soviet-era plane was a symbol of Ukraine's identity and was cherished by aviation enthusiasts. AP

Poland's Minister of Interior and Administration Mariusz Kaminski stands near the heavily damaged plane on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

The Ukrainian plane had six engines, 32 wheels and wingspan that matched the length of a football pitch. AP

A Ukrainian man searches for unexploded explosives near the damaged plane. AP

The aircraft's role in the aviation industry took on greater significance amid the coronavirus pandemic, as it delivered tonne after tonne of vital aid to countries worldwide. AP

The Mriya entered commercial service in 2001 and was originally developed to transport the Energiya carrier-rocket and Buran space shuttle. AP

The aircraft could carry a maximum payload of 250,000 kilograms, and had a wingspan of 88 metres. Its size meant it could fit a helicopter or haulage lorry inside. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers stand in front of the destroyed plane. Reuters

The aircraft was more than seven metres longer than a Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental and 11 metres longer than the Airbus A380-800, the largest passenger plane. AFP

It was the only Antonov An-225 in the world. AP

A second version was in the making and reached about 70 per cent completion in the mid-2000s before progress was halted because of the cost involved. AP

Since its first flight in 1988, it claimed 242 world records, according to Antonov Airlines. AP

The Mriya touched down at Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport in May 2016 after visiting Perth in Australia to deliver a 117-tonne generator. AFP

The Mriya was so large that the length of its cargo hold was longer than the Wright brothers’ first flight, from take-off to landing. Reuters

It cost around $30,000 an hour to hire the plane. Reuters

Elsewhere near Kherson, Russian strikes hit near a humanitarian distribution area in the village of Bilozerka, sending residents fleeing on Saturday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his daily address, said there had been nearly 400 Russian attacks in the east of the country alone on Sunday.

Mr Zelenskyy said the toughest battles were in the eastern Donetsk region, one of those that Russian now claims as its own. Fighting was also continuing in neighbouring Luhansk.

Teams were working around the clock to repair damage to the energy infrastructure from Russia's artillery bombardments, but "stabilisation blackouts" were nevertheless necessary in 15 regions, including Kyiv, he added.

And Mr Zelenskyy again set out Kyiv's terms for peace, which include food and energy security, the release of all prisoners and deportees, and the withdrawal of Russian troops from all Ukrainian territory.