UN agency warns of rising combat near Ukraine nuclear plant

By ELENA BECATOROS
Associated Press

DNIPRO, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the U.N.’s atomic energy watchdog is warning of the danger of a catastrophic accident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant because of increased fighting in the area. Rafael Mariano Grossi made the comment after returning from a visit to the plant, which is in a partially Russian occupied zone. Grossi is director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and said after his visit to the plant Wednesday that evidence of intensified combat was easy to see. He says he is working on a plan to protect Europe’s largest nuclear power facility itself, rather than securing the surrounding area as he originally hoped to do.