Shortly before the planned arrival of a group of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia, the nearby town of Enerhodar was shelled again.
Ukrainians and Russians blamed each other.
"The shelling from grenade launchers has been heard since five in the morning," wrote the escaped Ukrainian mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, on Telegram on Thursday.
Several civilian objects were hit, and there were also dead.
The agreed route, which the expert commission is to take from the city of Zaporizhia to the nuclear power plant 120 kilometers away, is also under fire, wrote the governor of the region, Olexandr Starukh, on Twitter.
On the other hand, the representative of the Russian occupiers, Vladimir Rogov, reported on Telegram that Enerhodar had been under fire from Ukrainian artillery since the early morning.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that an attempted attack by Ukrainian troops on the nuclear power plant had been repelled.
Around 60 men got out of boats on the banks of the Kachowka reservoir about three kilometers away from the plant and tried to take the power plant.
Ukrainian stormtroopers were spotted near the city of Enerhodar.
The group of experts, headed by IAEA boss Rafale Grossi, is to check the condition of the plant with its six reactors, the conditions under which the Ukrainian operating team is working and whether all the nuclear material can still be found on site.
Russian soldiers are in the nuclear power plant.
The plant and its surroundings have come under repeated shelling in recent weeks, with Russians and Ukrainians blaming each other.
Internationally, there was great concern about damage to the plant and the release of radioactivity.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian power plant operator Energoatom announced that one of two reactors still in operation at Zaporizhia NPP has been shut down after Russian shelling.
The emergency system was activated after mortar fire and reactor number 5 was shut down.
Reactor number 6 continues to produce electricity that the nuclear power plant needs for its own operation.
In addition, Energoatom announced that the employees were being subjected to repression by the Russian occupiers.
Several employees who are not well-disposed towards the Russians have disappeared.