UN nuclear chief says number of attacks on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has increased, TASS reports

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said on Friday that the number of attacks on the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine had increased, Russia's TASS state news agency reported.

Grossi was speaking after holding talks in Moscow with Alexei Likhachev, head of Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Russian forces took control of the plant soon after the start of the war with Ukraine in 2022 and Moscow has said the Zaporizhzhia region, which it does not fully control, is now part of Russia, an assertion which Kyiv rejects.

Rosatom said in a statement after the Grossi-Likhachev talks that Ukraine was constantly carrying out attacks on Energodar, the closest town to the nuclear plant.

But Grossi was quoted by TASS as saying that it was impossible to determine which side was carrying out the attacks based on the examination of drone fragments.

"The small fragments of plastic or wood left by the alleged drones do not allow us to speak about the origin of these fragments. However, I would like to assure you that I am raising these issues at the highest level of international discussions," Grossi was cited as saying.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Mark Trevelyan/Andrew Osborn)