Moscow, Aug 29 : Russian National Guard (Rosgvardiya) troops have defused an unexploded HIMARS cluster munition near the Kursk nuclear power plant.

"Upon arrival ... the Rosgvardiya officers discovered a missile fragment filled with 180 unexploded strike elements," according to a Rosgvardiya statement on Wednesday, adding that the munition was found five km from the Kursk plant.

A video it published of the find showed two soldiers inspecting fragments of the rocket which they said had been shot down by Russian air defences and had partially exploded in the air, Xinhua news agency reported.

One of the fragments they inspected was marked "M101 GRENADES". They were shown piling the munitions up in a hole in the ground and blowing them up in a controlled explosion.

Russian forces successfully neutralised the munition while observing safety measures, it said.

HIMARS is a US-developed light multiple rocket launcher.

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for endangering nuclear security since Ukraine launched an offensive into Russia's Kursk region on August 6.

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, visited the Kursk nuclear power plant on Tuesday.

He noted the risk of a nuclear incident in Russia's Kursk region while adding that the plant is operating normally under the current circumstances.

Ukrainian forces punched through Russia's western border into the Kursk region on August 6 in a surprise incursion which is still ongoing, and fighting has taken place within about 40 km (25 miles) of the nuclear facility.

Ukraine has yet to respond to an accusation last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin that it tried to attack the plant.

Grossi declined to spell out on Tuesday whether he held Ukraine responsible or not.

/IANS