The Zaporizhia atomic power plant, the largest in Europe in central Ukraine, was hit by Russian army strikes on Friday which caused a fire, but its safety is “guaranteed” according to Kiev, which accused Moscow to resort to “nuclear terror”.
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“Following a bombardment by Russian forces on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, a fire broke out,” said the plant’s spokesman, Andrei Touz, in a video posted on Telegram.
“Firefighters cannot reach the scene of the fire and put it out. The shots fall very close. The first electrical unit of the plant has already been hit. Stop it!” he continued in another video.
“Nuclear security is now guaranteed. According to the officials of the power plant, a building for training and a laboratory are affected by a fire”, later indicated on Facebook Oleksandre Staroukh, head of the military administration of the Zaporizhia region. He said firefighters were able to access the plant.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Russia to stop bombing the nuclear power plant.
“If it explodes, it will be ten times bigger than Chernobyl! The Russians must cease fire IMMEDIATELY,” Kuleba tweeted.
Radioactivity levels remain unchanged at the site of the plant, which has six nuclear reactors and provides much of the country’s energy, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. no “essential” equipment was affected.
The IAEA “calls for an end to the use of force and warns of grave danger if the reactors are hit,” the organization tweeted.
In a statement Thursday, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi called for an immediate end to all use of force at Enerhodar and near the plant.
He said the IAEA continues to consult with Kyiv and other actors to provide assistance and ensure the security of Ukrainian nuclear sites.
On February 24, fighting had already taken place near the former Chernobyl power plant, the site of the worst nuclear accident in history, a hundred kilometers north of Kyiv, and which is now in the hands of Russian troops.
Launched in 1985, at the time of the USSR, the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant has six reactors and provides a large part of the country’s energy.
US President Joe Biden also spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky about the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, which was the prey of a fire on Friday after a bombardment by Russian forces.
Mr. Biden “just spoke to Zelensky” about this plant located in central Ukraine, a senior American official said in a press release.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile accused Moscow on Friday of resorting to “nuclear terror” and wanting to “repeat” the Chernobyl disaster, after the bombing of a nuclear power plant in central Ukraine, in the midst of an invasion. Russian.
“We alert everyone to the fact that no other country apart from Russia has ever fired on nuclear power plants. This is the first time in our history, the first time in the history of mankind. This terrorist state is now resorting to nuclear terror,” he said in a video released by the Ukrainian presidency.