ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine: Europe's largest nuclear plant was once again knocked offline in the early hours of Saturday amid sustained shelling that destroyed a key power line and penetrated deep into the facility's premises, local Russian-backed authorities said.

The claims came barely a day after a team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) arrived at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has been caught in fierce recent fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces, six months after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine.