Several people have been killed or injured in the fire that broke out from the Russian shelling of the nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry says.
Ukrainian authorities say Russian forces have seized control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest such facility in Europe.
Several people have been killed or injured in the fire that broke out from the Russian shelling of the nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s foreign affairs ministry says.
Employees are monitoring the Zaporizhzhia plant to make sure it’s operating safely and radiation levels are currently normal, the ministry says in a statement on Facebook.
But if the process for cooling the nuclear fuel inside the power units is disturbed, there could be widescale radioactive damage, BBC News reports.
“Thousands of people – including civilians who are currently unable to evacuate the area near the plant due to ongoing shelling and fighting – would be hurt by this,” the statement says.
In line with the reaction from the Ukrainian president, the ministry says a nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia could be worse than previous accidents at nuclear plants – such as at Chernobyl and Fukushima.
“Russia has consciously undertaken an armed attack on the nuclear power site, an action that violated all international agreements within the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency],” the statement adds.
The ministry urges the international community to help force Russian troops out of the area, to ensure its safety.
Time News reports that there was damage to the compartment of reactor No. 1 at the Zaporizhzhia plant in the city of Enerhodar, but it does not affect the safety of the power unit, the regional military administration said in a statement.
It added that operational personnel are ensuring its safety. No information was immediately available about casualties. Ukrainian officials said that radiation levels in the area weren’t at dangerous levels.
According to the report, the shelling of the plant came as the Russian military pressed their attack on a crucial energy-producing Ukrainian city and gained ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea. As the invasion entered its second week, another round of talks between Russia and Ukraine yielded a tentative agreement to set up safe corridors to evacuate citizens and deliver humanitarian aid.
Leading nuclear authorities were worried — but not panicked — about the damage to the power station. The assault, however, led to phone calls between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders. The U.S. Department of Energy activated its nuclear incident response team as a precaution.
The nuclear plant spokesman Andriy Tuz had earlier told Ukrainian television that shells fell directly on the facility and set fire to one of its six reactors. That reactor is under renovation and not operating, but there is nuclear fuel inside, he said.
According to the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, the measurements taken at 7 a.m. Friday (0500 GMT) showed radiation levels in the region “remain unchanged and do not endanger the lives and health of the population.”