The leaders of the France, Germany. the UK and the U.S. stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of nuclear sites in Ukraine in a conference call on Sunday, the UK prime minister's office said.

"On a joint call, the Prime Minister, President (Joe) Biden, President (Emmanuel) Macron and Chancellor (Olaf) Scholz underlined their steadfast commitment to supporting Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion," a Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement.

"They stressed the importance of ensuring the safety and security of nuclear installations and welcomed recent discussions on enabling an IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) mission to the Zaporizhzhia facility."

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In the phone call, the four leaders also called for a "quick visit" to the nuclear site by independent inspectors of the IAEA.

It comes after the Russia's President Vladimir Putin had agreed that independent inspectors can travel to the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the French presidency said, as fears grow over fighting near the site.

According to Macron's office, Putin had "reconsidered" his demand that the IAEA travel through Russia to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear site rather than simply through Ukraine.

The UN nuclear watchdog's chief, Rafael Grossi "welcomed recent statements indicating that both Ukraine and Russia supported the IAEA's aim to send a mission to" the plant.

Meanwhile, UN chief Antonio Guterres urged Moscow's forces occupying Zaporizhzhia not to disconnect the facility from the grid and potentially cut supplies to millions of Ukrainians.

A flare-up in fighting around the Russian-controlled nuclear power station - with both sides blaming each other for attacks - has raised the spectre of a disaster worse than the infamous event in Chernobyl in 1986.

The Kremlin said that Putin and Macron agreed that the IAEA should carry out inspections "as soon as possible" to "assess the real situation on the ground."