VIENNA/ MOSCOW/KYIV - The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Thursday that he will visit the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) next week to assess the situation after Russia informed the agency of attempted attacks on the facility earlier in the day.

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said in a statement that he will assess the situation on site and discuss modalities for further activities needed to evaluate the nuclear safety and security conditions of the Kursk NPP during his upcoming visit.

According to the statement, the United Nations nuclear watchdog was informed by Russia earlier on Thursday that "the remains of a drone were found within the territory of the Kursk NPP" and that "the drone was suppressed in the early morning" of that day.

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"The drone fragments were reported to have been located roughly 100 meters from the plant's spent fuel nuclear storage facility," the statement read.

Grossi warned that military activities near a nuclear power plant pose a serious risk to nuclear safety and security.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has launched an attack on a railway ferry with fuel tanks in Russia's Black Sea port of Kavkaz, resulting in a fire, local authorities said.

The area of the fire and information about any victims are being clarified, the operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region said on Telegram.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

READ MORE: Russia creates troop groups in border regions amid Ukrainian offensive

Also on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, which borders Russia, the presidential press service said.

During his trip, Zelensky visited the Sumy border area and held a meeting with the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky and Sumy regional governor Volodymyr Artyukh.

Syrsky said at the meeting that Ukrainian forces took control of another settlement in Russia's western Kursk region and captured more Russian soldiers.

For his part, Artyukh said that shelling of the Sumy region from barrel weapons and the number of civilian casualties in the area have decreased since the start of Ukraine's operation in the Kursk region.

ALSO READ: Russian official: Several Ukrainian units start to withdraw from Kursk region

During the meeting, the parties discussed coordinating actions between the Ukrainian military, police and the State Service for Emergencies in the border areas, and the organization of humanitarian convoys to the Kursk region.

Ukraine started a military operation in the Kursk region on Aug 6. Syrsky said earlier that Ukraine had taken control of more than 90 settlements in the conflict-hit region.

The Sumy region borders Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions in the east and Bryansk region in the north.