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Kyiv: Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of starting a fire on the grounds of Europe’s largest and now Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Both sides reported no sign of elevated radiation.
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, which has a presence at the vast six-reactor facility, said its experts had seen strong, dark smoke coming from the northern area of the plant in southern Ukraine following multiple explosions.
An image provided by the Ukrainian presidential press office showing smoke rising from a cooling tower of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.Credit: AP
“These reckless attacks endanger nuclear safety at the plant and increase the risk of a nuclear accident. They must stop now,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in a separate statement, without attributing blame for the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had started the fire to “blackmail” Kyiv after his country’s forces launched their largest incursion into Russian territory since the war began in 2022. The Ukrainian offensive was a surprise move that has brought the conflict into a new phase, after weeks of Moscow’s battlefield gains.
“Currently, radiation levels are within norm. However, as long as the Russian terrorists maintain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal,” Zelensky wrote on X.
“Since the first day of its seizure, Russia has been using the Zaporizhzhia [nuclear power plant] only to blackmail Ukraine, all of Europe, and the world.”
Yevhen Balytskyi, the Russia-appointed governor of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant and causing the fire. He provided no evidence for the claim.
Russian state news agencies Tass and RIA cited the country’s nuclear energy company Rosatom as saying the main fire had been extinguished shortly before midnight on Sunday. RIA, citing Rosatom, said a drone attack had started the fire at the cooling tower, without providing evidence.
Ukraine’s nuclear power company Energoatom said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that one of the cooling towers and other equipment had been damaged.