- “We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire,” Andriy Tuz, spokesperson for the plant in Enerhodar, said in a video posted on Telegram. “There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe.” The plant accounts for about one quarter of Ukraine’s power generation.
- Ukraine says Russian forces seize Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
- Russian military forces have seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s southeast, a local authority said on Friday.
- IAEA says ‘essential’ parts of Ukraine nuclear plant not affected.
- Essential equipment at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was unaffected after a fire there, with no change in radiation levels, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Friday, citing the country’s regulatory authorities.
- Fire out at Ukraine’s key nuclear plant amid Russian attacks.
- ‘Will be 10 times larger than Chernobyl’, Ukraine warns Russia on nuclear-plant attack.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the largest of its kind in Europe, was on fire in the early hours of Friday morning after coming under attack by Russian troops.
A live feed from the station showed flames at the site in the south-east of the country, and showed tanks firing at buildings – sparking fears of a radiation disaster in the nation currently under invasion by Russian forces.
As the chaotic scenes unfolded, a government official told The Associated Press elevated levels of radiation had being detected near the site of the plant. A plant spokesman later said they remained at normal levels, and Ukraine’s 24 TV channel quoted the plant’s director as saying that ‘radiation security’ had been secured.
The Ukrainian atomic energy ministry said that one of the six generating units at the plant in Enerhodar had been struck by Russian fire. Zaporizhzhia has six nuclear reactors and produces almost a quarter of Ukraine’s power.
Officials initially reported Russian troops were blocking emergency services from reaching the blaze in a unit housing radioactive material, but local media later said firefighters were now working to extinguish it.
Plant spokesman Andriy Tuz told Ukrainian television that it is urgent to stop the fighting to put out the flames. The reactor that is on fire is under renovation and not operating, but there is nuclear fuel inside, he said.
