The attack on the southeastern city of Energodar and its Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant unfolded as the invasion entered its second week. Three Ukrainian troops were killed in the blast, according to the Ukrainian state nuclear company.
There has been no release of radioactive material at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant which has been shelled by Russian forces in Ukraine, the head of the UN’s atomic watchdog has said.
The attack on the southeastern city of Energodar and its Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant unfolded as the invasion entered its second week. Three Ukrainian troops were killed in the blast, according to the Ukrainian state nuclear company.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed a building that was not part of the reactor was hit by a Russian “projectile” and said two security personnel were injured.
“All the safety systems of the six reactors at the plant were not affected at all and there has been no release of radioactive material,” he said, adding that the Ukrainians are still in control of the reactor but the situation remains unstable, and the IAEA would continue to be in contact with officials at the site.
Meanwhile, Russian forces have continued their assaults on Ukraine’s major cities with Mariupol being bombarded with unrelenting artillery fire.
Kherson – strategically located in the south at the mouth of the Dneiper River’s exit into the Black Sea – is still under siege as the first major city the Russians say they have claimed.
And while the huge Russian military convoy north of Kyiv has stalled, analysts believe a major assault on the port city of Odessa might soon begin.
‘Threat of nuclear disaster’
Local politicians initially said that firefighters were unable to get close to the scene of the power plant attack because they were being shot at – but a team of 40 people and 10 units extinguished the blaze which was at a training building.
The IAEA said the fire has not affected essential equipment or caused radiation levels to change, while US officials have also stressed reactors at Zaporizhzhia power station are protected by robust containment measures, and were safely shut down.
There is only one reactor operating as normal at 60% of it’s capacity, Mr Grossi confirmed.
Ukrainian officials had earlier said there was a “real threat of nuclear danger”, with foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warning: “If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chernobyl.”
Nuclear power plant ‘captured by Russians’ – Ukraine officials
Ukraine’s nuclear regulator earlier reported the plant had been “captured by military forces of the Russian Federation”.
In a statement on Facebook, the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation said: “Systems and elements, important for the safety of the nuclear power plant, are in working condition.
“Changes in the radiation state for the current time have not been recorded.”
But the IAEA chief said for the time being Ukrainian staff continue to run operations at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
Sky News
