The head of Russia's state nuclear energy agency on Wednesday held a meeting with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief to discuss an expected inspection of a Moscow-controlled atomic plant in Ukraine.

Recent shelling and fighting around the giant facility -- the largest in Europe -- has raised concerns of a nuclear incident comparable to Chernobyl, with Kyiv and Moscow accusing each other of targeting the plant.

Head of the UN agency Rafael Grossi and Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev met in Istanbul on Wednesday, the Russian nuclear energy agency said in a statement.

Grossi and Likhachev "discussed in detail all the issues relating to the planned IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant", Rosatom said.

"The Russian side shares the intention... to organise such a mission in the near future, as soon as the military situation on the ground allows it," it added.

Likhachev "underlined that the security of nuclear installations, wherever they are, has always been and remains a top priority of Russia".

Last week, presidents Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron called for a rapid independent inspection at the atomic plant that was seized by Russia in March in the early days of the military campaign in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the UN to secure the site.

Russian authorities also said on Wednesday they detained two employees of the Zaporizhzhia plant for collaborating with the Ukrainian army.

The two employees allegedly shared "the location of personnel and equipment" on the territory of the plant, Russia's Rosgvardia National Guard said as quoted by Russian news agencies.

It added a third person -- a trespasser -- was also detained for sharing the movements of Russian troops with Kyiv.

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Japan eyes nuclear power push to combat energy crunch
Tokyo (AFP) Aug 24, 2022
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