This Sunday (11), Russia and Ukraine accused each other of having started a fire in Zaporizhia nuclear power plantin the south of the country, controlled by Moscow’s forces since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky even used a social network to say that this way Russia can blackmail Europe and the entire world.
The Russian government denies responsibility for the attack and says it was carried out by Ukrainian forces. “As a result of shelling in the city of Enerhodar (where the nuclear power plant is located), a fire broke out in a component of the cooling system of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant,” the Russian-imposed local governor, Yevgeny Balitsky, wrote on Telegram.
Balitski assured that radiation levels around the plant and in Enerhodar were not above normal. “Specialists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working at the site of the fire. The fire is being put out,” he added. The official asked the public to remain calm, assuring that the situation was “under control.”
At the same time, the communications director of the plant, Yevgeniya Yashina, told the Tass news agency that this is the first time that the infrastructure of the nuclear power plant has suffered damage as a result of an attack by Ukrainian forces.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Kiev of subjecting the continent to “nuclear terror.”
Zelensky accuses Russia of starting fires and putting the world at risk
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia was responsible for starting the fire on the grounds of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. “From the city of Nikopol, it is clear that the invaders set fire to the grounds of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant,” Zelensky said on his X account on Sunday.
“For now, the radiation is normal. But as long as Russian terrorists occupy the nuclear power plant, the situation will not be normal and cannot be. Since the first day of the occupation, Russia has been using the nuclear power plant to blackmail Ukraine and the entire world,” the president added.
Zelensky says Ukraine expects a reaction from the world and from nuclear control agencies and that it is necessary to demand that Russia be held accountable. “Only Ukraine’s recovery of control of the plant can guarantee a return to normality and make full security possible,” he argues.
Earlier, the head of the Nikopol military administration, Yevhen Yevtushenko, said that unofficial sources reported that the Russians had set fire to a large quantity of tires in Zaporizhia.
“It could be a provocation or an attempt to cause panic in the settlements on the other side of the dam,” he said, calling for calm. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that despite observing thick black smoke and multiple explosions at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, which is under Russian occupation, there was no danger to nuclear safety.
An IAEA team at the plant was informed by Russian authorities controlling the facility about a “supposed drone attack” that allegedly targeted one of the plant’s cooling towers. Despite the incident, “no impact on nuclear safety was reported,” an IAEA message on social media said.
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