‘Nuclear terrorism’: Fire erupts at power plant after Ukraine’s attack
A fire has broken out at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in what Moscow described as “an act of nuclear terrorism” by Ukraine.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the governor of Zaporizhzhia, said on Sunday a Ukrainian shelling had caused a fire at the cooling towers of the ZNPP.
In the early hours of Monday, Vladimir Rogov, a Russian official, said the fire had been "completely extinguished."
Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom described the attack as “an act of the nuclear terrorism on behalf of the Ukrainian authorities."
"For a long time the Ukrainian regime has been systematically attempting to carry out attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the city of Energodar," Rosatom said in a statement on Monday.
According to the statement, the power plant was targeted in a drone attack that left three people injured in April, while in June the Ukrainian army hit “an environmental radiological monitoring station of the ZNPP in the settlement of Velikaya Znamenka.”
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian forces of starting the Sunday blaze.
The UN nuclear agency said its experts had witnessed "strong dark smoke" coming from the facility following "multiple explosions," but it noted "No impact has been reported for nuclear safety."
It, however, later said it had requested "immediate access to the cooling tower to assess the damage."
The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest, has been controlled by Russian troops since late February 2022.
Since then, Ukraine has targeted the power plant using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).
The ZNPP has not produced power in more than two years and all six reactors have been in cold shutdown since April.
Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 partly to prevent NATO’s eastward expansion after warning that the military alliance was following an “aggressive line” against Moscow.
The Western countries have been fueling the flames of the war with their unchecked delivery of weapons to Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that such a flow of weapons to Kiev will only prolong the conflict.
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