Fire breaks out at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant amid Ukraine-Russia conflict

A fire broke out in Europe's largest nuclear power plant, located in southern Ukraine, while the UN's atomic energy watchdog has said nuclear safety was not affected.

Experts observed Sunday's "strong dark smoke" from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant's northern area after explosions were heard in the evening, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on X, adding: "No impact has been reported for nuclear safety."

Ukraine and Russia have been trading blame over the incident.

"Six units in the power plant are in cold shutdown, there is no explosion or other danger," the Russian-installed regional governor of Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeny Balitsky, said in a written statement.

He added that the fire broke out in the cooling system of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant due to shelling by the Ukrainian army.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said they "recorded from Nikopol that the Russian occupiers have started a fire on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant."

"Since the first day of its seizure, Russia has been using the Zaporizhzhia NPP only to blackmail Ukraine, all of Europe, and the world," Zelenskyy said on X.

For his part, the head of the district military administration of Nikopol, Yevhen Yevtushenko, said on Telegram that the facility is currently "operating as normal as possible under the conditions of occupation," according to the Ukrinform.

Ukraine, Russia trade blame

Moscow and Kiev have accused each other of starting a fire on the grounds of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as Ukraine urged residents to remain calm and reported no sign of elevated radiation.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, which has a presence at the vast six-reactor facility, said its experts had seen strong, dark smoke coming from the northern area of the plant in southern Ukraine following multiple explosions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of lighting a fire which he said was visible from the Kiev-held city of Nikopol which looks out onto the Russian-held plant.

Evgeny Balitsky, a Russian-backed official in the occupied south, accused Kiev's forces of causing the fire by shelling the nearby city of Enerhodar which, like the plant, was captured by Russia soon after its February 2022 incursion.

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Source: TRT