Russian troops seize nuclear plant after shelling, fire
PBC News: Russian forces have seized the largest nuclear power plant in Europe after a building at the complex was set on fire during intense fighting with Ukrainian defenders, Ukrainian authorities have said, report agencies.
Fears of a potential nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia plant had spread alarm across world capitals, before authorities said the fire in a building identified as a training centre, had been extinguished.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said there was no indication of elevated radiation levels at the plant, which provides more than a fifth of total electricity generated in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian regional authority confirmed in a Facebook post that Russian forces had captured the plant and said personnel were monitoring the condition of power units to ensure they could operate safely.
Earlier, a video feed from the plant verified by Reuters showed shelling and smoke rising near a five-storey building at the plant compound.
The footage shot at night showed one building aflame, and a volley of incoming shells, before a large candescent ball lit up the sky, exploding beside a car park and sending smoke billowing across the compound.
“Europeans, please wake up. Tell your politicians – Russian troops are shooting at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine,” Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address.
Zelensky said Russian tanks had shot at the nuclear reactor plants, though there was no evidence cited that they had been hit.
Russia’s defence ministry has blamed the attack on Ukrainian saboteurs, calling it a monstrous provocation.
A defence ministry spokesman said the nuclear plant was operating normally and the area had been under Russian control since February 28.
“However, last night on the territory adjacent to the power plant, an attempt was made by the Kyiv nationalist regime to carry out a monstrous provocation,” spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying.
He said that a Russian national guard patrol was attacked by a Ukrainian sabotage group on territory adjacent to the plant.
The mayor of the nearby town of Energodar, about 550km southeast of Kyiv, said fierce fighting and “continuous enemy shelling” had caused casualties in the area, without providing details.
Thousands of people are believed to have been killed or wounded and more than 1 million refugees have fled Ukraine since Russian President Vladimir Putin last Thursday launched the biggest attack on a European state since World War II.
Early reports of the incident at the power plant sent financial markets in Asia spiralling, with stocks tumbling and oil prices surging further.
Europe’s largest nuclear plant at centre of Russia-Ukraine war
Russia had already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant north of Kyiv, which spewed radioactive waste over much of Europe when it melted down in 1986. The Zaporizhzhia plant is a different and safer type, analysts said.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson both spoke with Mr Zelensky to get an update on the situation at the plant.
“President Biden joined President Zelensky in urging Russia to cease its military activities in the area and allow firefighters and emergency responders to access the site,” the White House said.
