Fighting around a Ukrainian nuclear power plant heightens security fears.

DRUZHKIVKA, Ukraine — Fighting raged Saturday near a sprawling nuclear power plant in the south Ukraine, despite warnings from nuclear security watchdogs earlier this week that conditions there were unsafe and "out of control".

The Russian army uses the factory in Zaporizhzhia, the largest in Europe, as a base to attack the Ukrainian-controlled town of Nikopol across the river.

On Saturday, it fired a volley of Grad rockets that damaged 11 apartment buildings and 36 private homes, and injured three people, the Ukrainian military said.

The assault also cut off electricity, water and natural gas to the town, where residents fled artillery attacks and risk of radiation that as a result, the Ukrainian military said.

Russi A force began launching artillery attacks from the power plant about a month ago, and the Ukrainian army said it could not retaliate because it feared it would hit a reactor at the plant, triggering a radioactive disaster.

Ukraine also accused the Russians of causing explosions at the plant in an attempt to piss off European allies over nuclear safety and discourage Ukraine's arming.

Outrage sparked nuclear security violations - Rafael Grossi, director general of the United Nations nuclear watchdog, said on Tuesday that "all nuclear security principles have been violated" - did nothing to dislodge the Russian army from the site. Fighting continued daily, with explosions early Friday afternoon. Mr. Grossi called the conditions at the factory "out of control".

Mr. Grossi said he was much more worried about Zaporizhzhia than Chernobyl, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster, also in Ukraine, which irradiated the surrounding region and endangered Europe.

"Chernobyl, I think everything is fine," Grossi said, noting that his agency had regularly inspected the plant and restored sensors for radiation monitoring and other protective devices. detection.

But the A.I.E.A. was unable to access key parts of the Zaporizhzhia reactors, as the Russian occupation force and surrounding bombardment made it too dangerous for inspectors. This raises the possibility that if damage is done to the facility, it may be difficult at best to assess the danger, he added.

In his nightly address to Ukrainians, President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday highlighted what he called the "brazen crime" of the Russian military using the nuclear power plant as a cover.

"The occupiers have created another extremely risky situation for everyone in Europe," Zelensky said, citing the explosions earlier in the day at the plant. of our continent, and any bombing of this facility is an open and brazen crime, an act of terror.