U.N. chief, in Ukraine, says he is worried by situation at front line nuclear plant

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday he was gravely concerned by the situation at Europe's largest nuclear power station after it came under shelling at the front lines in Ukraine.

Russia, which captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant soon after its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, said it could shut down the facility - a move Kyiv said would increase the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.

Guterres, speaking to reporters after talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, said military equipment and personnel should be withdrawn from the plant.

"The facility must not be used as part of any military operation. Instead, agreement is urgently needed to re-establish Zaporizhzhia's purely civilian infrastructure and to ensure the safety of the area," he said.