The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday called for the establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine.

"The IAEA is ready to start immediately the consultations leading to the urgent establishment of such a nuclear safety and security protection zone at the ZNPP," the agency said in a report after the visit of its mission to the plant.

Rafael Grossi, director-general of the IAEA, also briefed the latest situation and the body's findings on the ZNPP to a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Tuesday.

"This [the proposal] is based on the findings from our mission to the power plant there, outlined in our new report," he told the meeting, "The current situation is untenable and the best action to ensure the safety and security of Ukraine's nuclear facilities and its people would be for this armed conflict to end now."

The IAEA report called the shelling at or near the ZNPP "deeply troubling for nuclear safety and security at the facility," but did not name who is responsible. 

Both Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for shelling, which took place again Tuesday despite the UN watchdog's recommendations.

Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya, who attended Tuesday's UNSC meeting, said Russia needs more time to study the IAEA report about the ZNPP and is waiting for details on a proposal for a security zone.

He said that Russia does not use the ZNPP as a military base and called on the UNSC to condemn Ukrainian provocations at the plant. 

"If the provocations by the Kyiv regime continue, there is no guarantee that there won't be serious consequences, and the responsibility for that lies fully with Kyiv and its Western backers and all other members of Security Council," he said while expressing regret that the IAEA did not blame Ukraine for the attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, commenting on the report, welcomed the fact that the document noted the Russian military occupation of the plant, and said that if the proposed security zone was aimed at demilitarizing "the territory of the nuclear power plant ... then we can support it." 

(With input from agencies)