Moscow and Kiev accused each other of setting fire on Sunday at the site of Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhia, which is now occupied by Russia. However, both sides reported no signs of increased radiation.
The United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a presence at the massive six-reactor facility, said its experts had seen thick, dark smoke rising from the northern part of the plant in southern Ukraine following several explosions.
Russian state news agencies TASS and RIA quoted Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom as saying the main fire was extinguished shortly before midnight on Sunday.
The shelling came less than a week after Ukrainian forces launched their largest incursion into Russian territory since the war began in 2022, a surprise move that brought the conflict into a new phase after weeks of Moscow’s battlefield successes.
The Ukrainian nuclear company Energoatom said in a statement via the messaging app Telegram that one of the cooling towers and other equipment had been damaged.
Russian news agency TASS also reported, citing Rosatom’s statement, that a cooling tower had been damaged. Citing Russian Emergencies Ministry officials on the scene, TASS said the tower was not operational.
Russia captured the power plant from Ukraine shortly after it began a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbor in 2022. The attack was described by Moscow as a “special operation.” The plant’s six nuclear reactors are in cold shutdown mode.
Assign blame
As of early Monday, the cause of the fire, which broke out around 8 p.m. (5 p.m. GMT) on Sunday, was still unclear.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of setting the fire, saying the fire was visible from the Kyiv-controlled town of Nikopol, which overlooks the Russian-controlled power plant.
Yevgeny Balitsky, a Russian-appointed official in Ukraine’s occupied south, accused Kyiv forces of causing the fire by shelling the nearby town of Enerhodar, which, like the power plant, was captured by Russia shortly after the Russian invasion in February 2022.
The IAEA said there had been no reports of impacts on nuclear safety at the site.
“The team was informed today by the nuclear power plant of a suspected drone attack on one of the cooling towers at the site,” it wrote on X.
Ukrainian energy company Energoatom said Russia’s “negligence” or arson could have caused the fire. Without providing evidence, the company also claimed that Russia uses the power plant’s cooling towers to store military equipment and explosives.
Russian government officials, including Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, accused Kiev of deliberately wanting to destroy the facility and spread “nuclear terror.”
Zelensky released a grainy video showing black smoke apparently coming from a cooling tower with a fire burning at its base.
“Currently, radiation levels are normal. But as long as Russian terrorists maintain control of the nuclear power plant, the situation is not normal and cannot be,” he said.
The plant’s six reactors, located near the front lines of the war in Ukraine, are not in operation, but the facility relies on external energy to keep its nuclear material cool and prevent a catastrophic accident.
Moscow and Kiev regularly accused each other of endangering security in their surroundings.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
