There is a risk of “sputtering of radioactive substances” at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, occupied by Russian troops, the Ukrainian public operator warned on Saturday.
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According to Energoatom, Russian troops shelled the site “repeatedly over the past day”.
“As a result of periodic bombardments, the infrastructure of the plant has been damaged and there are risks of hydrogen leakage and spraying of radioactive substances,” the Ukrainian nuclear power company said on Telegram, adding that there was “a high fire hazard”.
According to the operator, since noon Saturday (0900 GMT), the plant “has been operating with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety standards”.
Russia, for its part, also accused Ukraine of shelling Zaporizhia in the past 24 hours.
In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Defense assured that the Ukrainian artillery had fired 17 shells on the enclosure of the power plant, the largest in Europe.
“Four (shells) fell on the roof of the special building No. meters from a used fuel depot and near another containing “fresh fuel”.
According to the Russian army, the Ukrainian army fired from around the town of Marhanet, which faces the plant, on the opposite bank of the Dnieper river still controlled by Kyiv.
AFP could not verify these statements from an independent source.
The Zaporizhia plant, where six of Ukraine’s 15 reactors are located, was taken by Russian troops in early March, shortly after the invasion began on February 24, and is near the frontline in the south.
Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of carrying out bombardments near the complex, itself near the town of Energodar on the Dnieper River.
On Thursday, the plant was cut off from the Ukrainian power grid for the first time since it was commissioned four decades ago, due to “actions of the invaders”, according to Energoatom.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the power outage was caused by the Russian bombardment of the last active power line connecting the plant to the grid.
The plant was returned to service on Friday afternoon, but Mr Zelensky warned that “the worst-case scenario … is constantly provoked by Russian forces”.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is urging a mission to be sent to the plant “as soon as possible to help stabilize the nuclear safety and security situation”.