A Russian bombardment on Friday hit the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe in central Ukraine. It started a fire and reached one of its units, the spokesman for this plant said on Friday.
“Following a bombardment by Russian forces on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, a fire broke out,” spokesman Andrei Touz said in a video posted on the plant’s Telegram account.
‘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.
On Twitter, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmitri Kouleba, called for an end to the shootings. ‘If it explodes, it will be 10 times worse than Chernobyl! The Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow the firefighters to pass and allow a security perimeter,” he wrote.
Earlier Thursday, Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Russian tanks and infantry were near the town of Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Launched in 1985, during the USSR, the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant has six reactors and provides a large part of the country’s energy.
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 regarding a hundred kilometers north of Kiev, and which is now in the hands of Russian troops.
/ ATS
