Ukrainian nuclear power plant fire extinguished as Russian troops 'occupy' facility The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is on fire according to the mayor of the nearby town of Energodar, Dmytro Orlov. The plant had not sustained any critical damage in the attack, Andrii Tuz, a plant spokesman, told CNN on Friday. The IAEA said Ukrainian authorities had reported background radiation levels were normal and the fire had not affected “essential” equipment. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that “if (the plant) blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chernobyl,” and Zelensky said that such an incident would mean “the end of Europe.”īut experts were quick to stress that they did not believe a reactor could blow up, pointing out fundamental differences between Chernobyl and the Zaporizhzhia plant. Ukrainian officials quickly sounded the alarm about the potential implications of the attack. Separately, Ukraine’s nuclear power operator, Energoatom, said the “administrative building and the checkpoint at the station are under occupiers’ control.” It said staff are working on the power units to ensure stable operation. Four of the remaining units are being cooled down while one unit is providing power, the statement said. The power plant’s six reactors remain intact, though the compartment auxiliary buildings for reactor unit 1 had been damaged, the SNRI said in its statement. In a statement Friday morning local time, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate (SNRI) confirmed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine was occupied by Russian military forces, but said officials remained in contact with plant management. They’ve been preparing for this (attack),” Zelensky said in the post, adding “our guys are keeping the atomic power station secure.” “Russian tanks, equipped with thermal imagery, are shooting at the atomic blocks. In a Facebook post early Friday, Zelensky accused Russian troops of committing a “terror attack” by intentionally firing at the power plant – potentially risking the lives of millions. “Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.Ī large number of Russian tanks and infantry “broke through the block-post” to Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the Zaporizhzhia power plant, according to Grossi.Ī Russian projectile then hit a building within the site of the plant, causing a localized fire, but none of the reactors were nearby and they were unaffected, the IAEA chief said. Reports of an attack on the facility emerged early Friday morning, with video of the scene showing bursts of gunfire apparently directed at the Zaporizhzhia plant before dawn. What happened at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant? Grossi had earlier told reporters that what happens next at Zaporizhzhia is “a situation that is very difficult to sustain, very fragile” while there is an active military operation and Russian forces in control. Radioactive material was not released from the plant, but it was a “close call,” Rafael Grossi, the IAEA director-general, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Friday.įollowing the Russian attack, “there was great alarm if the physical integrity of the nuclear power installation had been compromised, with the … possible risk that that entails,” Grossi said. The IAEA called for fighting around the facility to end, and world leaders were swift in their criticism of Russia’s move. The first time, the first time in history,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Facebook post. “No country besides Russia has ever fired upon an atomic power plant’s reactors. But analysts nonetheless expressed horror that Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine has spilled into nuclear facilities, a development with few recent parallels.Īnd the operator and regulator of the site have communicated that the situation on the ground is “extremely tense and challenging,” according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Modern plants are significantly safer than older ones like Chernobyl, they said. Those concerns were quickly downplayed by experts, who warned against comparisons with the plant at Chernobyl, where the world’s worst nuclear disaster occurred in 1986. Russian troops have occupied Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, after fierce fighting near the Ukrainian facility that drew international condemnation and sparked fears of a potential nuclear incident.
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