Shelling in Enerhodar, near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, has "not stopped since 5 a.m.," city mayor Dmytro Orlov told CNN Thursday.
"There are casualties among civilians. This is probably the most difficult day in the entire history of the occupation of the city," he said.
Russian-appointed regional officials also reported shelling across Enerhodar Thursday, claiming there had been "at least three" civilian casualties and five injuries, including a child.
CNN has not been able to independently verify claims from either side.
The reports come as a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) make their way to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to carry out a planned inspection of the facility, which has been held by Russian forces since March.
In a series of statements, Russian and Ukrainian officials accused each other of shelling the IAEA’s prearranged route to the Zaporizhzhia plant.
IAEA spokesperson Fredrik Dahl said the inspectors had been "delayed" for three hours on the Ukrainian-controlled side of the front line en route to the nuclear facility, prompting IAEA chief Rafael Grossi to personally negotiate with Ukrainian military authorities to allow the team to proceed.
In a statement Thursday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it would provide the IAEA’s inspectors "full security for further work" upon their arrival at the plant.