U.S., Ukrainian leaders call on Russia to return nuclear plant -White House

FILE PHOTO: A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in a phone call honouring Ukraine's independence day, called on Moscow on Thursday to hand over control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Ukrainian authorities.

Biden and Zelenskiy also called for international officials to assess the plant's safety, amid fears of a nuclear disaster, with Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of shelling the site near front lines in southern Ukraine.