Russian leader Vladimir Putin has said that UN officials will be granted permission to visit and inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex.
The Kremlin announced a call between Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron. It came as claims of fighting near the plant continued, with four civilians reportedly injured by Russian bombardment.
Separately, the United States pledged Friday to send more weapons and ammunition to help Ukraine’s war effort.
In a post-call reading between the French and Russian leaders, the Kremlin said Putin agreed to give UN investigators “the necessary assistance” to gain access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear site.
The plant has been under Russian occupation since early March, but Ukrainian technicians still operate it under Russian direction. “Both leaders noted the importance” of sending IAEA experts to the plant to assess “the situation on the ground,” the Kremlin said.
The director general of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), welcomed Putin’s statement and said he was willing to lead a visit to the plant himself.
“In this highly volatile and fragile situation, it is vital that no new measures are taken that could further jeopardize the safety of one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants,” said Rafael Grossi.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the prospect of an inspection in his late-night address but said specific details were still being worked out.
Kyiv says Russia has turned the complex into an army base – deploying military equipment, weapons and about 500 troops using the site as a shield to attack towns across the Dnieper River.
And in recent weeks, the area around the facility has come under heavy artillery fire, with Kyiv and Moscow blaming each other for the attacks.
Ukrainian officials claimed that Russian shelling of the area surrounding the plant continued on Friday, accusing Moscow’s forces of wounding four civilians in the city of Marhanets, across the river from the plant.
Five houses were also damaged in the area, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko claimed on Telegram.
Despite being willing to grant inspectors access, Russian officials have flatly refused international demands to demilitarise the site.
On Friday, Ivan Nechayev, deputy director of the Russian foreign ministry’s information and press department, said that such moves would leave the plant “even more vulnerable”.
Meanwhile, Russia submitted a letter to the UN Security Council detailing the “provocations” that it accuses Ukraine of plotting at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
The Russian mission to the UN alleged that the Ukrainians want to cause “what they believe to be a minor accident”, consisting of a radiation leak, which could see Russia accused of “nuclear terrorism”.
The letter denied that Russian troops were storing weapons on site. It repeated an allegation that the Ukrainians had been shelling the plant. Separately, Washington has unveiled a new $775m (£655m) package of defence equipment for Ukraine.
The funding will pay for Himar’s long-range rocket launchers, ammunition for artillery, surveillance drones and anti-tank missiles. According to a senior US Defence official quoted by Reuters news agency, the package will also contain mine-resistant vehicles for the first time. Ukraine has been heavily dependent on weapon supplies from its Western allies to assist its resistance against the Russian invasion.