(Moscow) A fire has broken out in the cooling system of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, with Kyiv and Moscow accusing each other of responsibility.
Both sides say no increase in radiation has been detected around the plant, which has been controlled by Russian forces since the first days of their offensive in 2022.
“The shelling of the city of Enerdogar by Ukrainian troops caused a fire in the cooling system,” the pro-Russian governor of the region, Yevgeny Balitsky, announced on Telegram.
The Zaporizhzhia power plant, the largest in Europe, has been occupied by the Russians since March 2022. It is located in Energodar, along the Dnieper, a river that serves as a natural front line between the warring parties.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has monitoring staff on site, said Sunday evening that it had “not observed any impact on nuclear safety.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a message posted on social media that “the Russian occupiers started a fire” at the plant but “currently, radiation levels are within the norm.”
Governor Balitsky, installed by the Russian authorities, also assured that the “radiological environment” around the plant, whose six units are shut down as a safety measure, was normal.
The Ukrainian Interior Minister said he was “carefully monitoring” the situation from monitoring stations located near the plant.
“There is no risk of steam explosion or other consequences,” he added.
A video released by President Zelensky shows a column of black smoke rising from one of the plant’s cooling towers.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of deliberately shelling the facility, which Kyiv denies.
Ukraine, for its part, accuses Russia of having militarized the area by installing heavy weapons inside the perimeter of the plant.
The IAEA has repeatedly called for restraint, fearing that “reckless” military action could trigger a “major nuclear accident.”