A nuclear power plant in Russia-controlled southern Ukraine was seen on fire and clouded in smoke on Sunday, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of setting the blaze to “blackmail” his country and the world.
“We have recorded from Nikopol that the Russian occupiers have started a fire on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,” Zelensky wrote on X. Nikopol is across the Dnipro River from the power plant.
The Ukrainian president assured his followers that the radiation levels at the power plant are “within norm” but that as long as Russia controls it, the situation is “not and cannot be normal.”
“Since the first day of its seizure, Russia has been using the Zaporizhzhia NPP only to blackmail [International Atomic Energy Agency] to react. Russia must be held accountable for this. Only Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhzhia NPP can guarantee a return to normalcy and complete safety.”
The head of the Ukrainian-controlled military administration in the Nikopol district, Yevhen Yevtushenko, said he had unofficial information that Russia started the fire by setting car tires ablaze in the cooling towers.
He called it “a provocation, or an attempt to create panic” and clarified that the plant is “operating as normal as possible under the conditions of occupation,” per CNN.
Russia, on the other hand, accused Ukraine of the fire on the plant’s territory.
Yevgeniy Balitsky, the Russian-appointed official in control of occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia, said the fire was “a result of shelling of the city of Enerhodar by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.” He also maintained there was no radiation threat to the nuclear plant or the city of Enerhodar.
The IAEA said its experts “witnessed strong dark smoke” coming from the plant’s northern side following “multiple explosions heard in the evening.”
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“Team was told by ZNPP of an alleged drone attack today on one of the cooling towers located at the site. No impact has been reported for nuclear safety,” the organization added.
Ukraine has been fighting to defend its land since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. However, the war has reached a new stage, as Zelensky confirmed on Saturday that Ukrainian forces moved into Russia as part of a surprise counteroffensive.
