07 May 2023 , 11:55
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Russian officials have triggered a "mad panic" after evacuating a town near Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
Yevgeny Balitsky, governor of the partially-occupied Zaporizhzhia province, ordered civilians from 18 settlements to leave the area - including Enerhodar, where most of the power station's staff live.
The plant is near the front lines of fighting, and Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday that a 72-year-old woman was killed and three other people injured when Russian forces fired more than 30 shells at Nikopol, a Ukrainian-held town nearby.
Russia's evacuation has since prompted an announcement from the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, who expressed growing concern about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia power station.
Russia has told people to leave 18 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia regionInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi said in a warning on Saturday: "The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous.
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"I'm extremely concerned about the very real nuclear safety and security risks facing the plant."
Writing on Telegram, Ivan Fedorov, the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, said there was "a mad panic and no less mad queues".
He added: "The partial evacuation they announced is going too fast, and there is a possibility that they may be preparing for provocations and (for that reason) focusing on civilians."
Melitopol city head Ivan Fedorov (Ukrinform/REX/Shutterstock)The settlements affected are 30-40 miles (50-70km) from the front line of fighting between Ukraine and Russia, and Mr Balitsky said Ukraine has intensified attacks on the area in the past several days.
The region is also widely seen as a likely focus for Ukraine's anticipated spring counter-offensive.
The Ukrainian General Staff said on Sunday that the evacuation of Enerhodar has already begun.
According to an update posted on Facebook, the General Staff said the first residents being moved are those who took Russian citizenship following the capture of the town by Moscow early in the war.
The plant is near the front lines of fighting (AFP via Getty Images)They are being taken to the Russia-occupied Azov Sea coast, about 120 miles (200km) to the south-east.
Mr Grossi said operating staff at the nuclear power plant, whose six reactors are currently all in shutdown mode, had not been evacuated as of Saturday but that most live in Enerhodar and the situation has contributed to "increasingly tense, stressful and challenging conditions for personnel and their families".
He added that IAEA experts at the nuclear site "are continuing to hear shelling on a regular basis".
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"We must act now to prevent the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequence for the population and the environment," Mr Grossi said.
A Russian serviceman patrolling the territory of the nuclear power station on May 1 (AFP via Getty Images)"This major nuclear facility must be protected. I will continue to press for a commitment by all sides to achieve this vital objective."
Elsewhere, Russian shelling on Saturday and overnight killed six civilians and injured four others in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, according to a Telegram update published by the local administration on Sunday.
Five civilians were injured in the eastern Donetsk region, the epicentre of the fighting in recent months, local governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces overnight attacked the largest port in the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula with drones, a Kremlin-installed local official said on Telegram early on Sunday.
According to the post by Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, 10 Ukrainian drones targeted the city, three of which were shot down by air defence systems. Mr Razvozhayev said there had been no damage.