BERLIN: The German leaders, France, Britain and the United States have urged for warring sides to show restraint around Ukraine's embattled Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and for UN inspectors to immediately have access to the sprawling site.

Early in March, Russia took control of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant, which is situated in Enerhodar, a city in southern Ukraine. Recent weeks have seen an increase in fighting within the complex, triggering grim warnings from foreign powers of a possible disastrous escalation.

During a phone discussion on Sunday, US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed Zaporizhzhya and the larger Ukrainian war.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear experts will assess the facility to assist assure its safety and security, and they agreed on the "need to prevent military activity near the plant,"  White House said in a statement.

German officials, according to Scholz's spokeswoman, "are in agreement that persistent support for Ukraine in its defence against Russian aggression will continue." With six reactors, Europe's largest nuclear power plant is strategically significant for Ukraine's electricity supply.

Kiev claims that Russian soldiers utilise the facility as a cover from which to fire on targets on the other bank of the Dnipro reservoir because they are aware that Ukrainian forces will be reluctant to fire in the direction of the crucial position.

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