Britain reports heavy fighting in southern Ukraine

Sept 2 (Reuters) - Heavy fighting persists in the southern part of Ukraine including shellings in the Enerhodar district, near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Britain's defence ministry said on Friday.

On Sept. 1, Russia began its strategic military exercises in the east of the country, called the "Vostok" (East) exercises that will end on Sept. 5.

While Russia has claimed that 50,000 troops will take part in the exercise, it is unlikely that more than 15,000 personnel will be involved this year, Britain's defence ministry said. (Reporting by Rittik Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)