The Zaporizhzhia plant, which Russia seized shortly after its invasion in February, was again rocked by shelling this week, leading to renewed calls from the IAEA to create a security zone around it to prevent any nuclear disaster

The chief of the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met a Russian delegation in Istanbul on Wednesday to discuss safety at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, according to the IAEA.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, which Russia seized shortly after its invasion in February, was again rocked by shelling this week, leading to renewed calls from the IAEA to create a security zone around it to prevent any nuclear disaster.

In recent months, Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for shelling at the plant which has damaged buildings and power lines of the plant which are critical in keeping cool the six reactors’ fuel and avoiding any nuclear meltdown.

“IAEA Director General Rafael M Grossi met a Russian delegation led by Rosatom DG Alexey Likhachev in Istanbul today, for consultations on operational aspects related to safety at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine and on urgently establishing a nuclear safety and security protection zone,” the IAEA tweeted.

Grossi has warned for months of the shelling could lead to a potentially catastrophic accident.

The nuclear plant, which is the biggest in Europe provided about a fifth of Ukraine's electricity before it was partially destroyed in the war and has been forced to operate on backup generators a number of times.

Continued shelling around the plant has raised the eyes of the world and concerns about the potential for a grave accident just 500 kilometres from the site of the world's worst nuclear accident, the 1986 Chornobyl disaster.