A fire broke out at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, located in Zaporizhzhia, in the Enerhodar region of southeastern Ukraine, after Russian forces fired on the installation in the early hours of this Friday (4) (local date).
In his Twitter account, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, warned of the risk of an accident “ten times worse” than that which occurred in Chernobyl. “The Russian army is firing from all sides at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe. The fire has already started. If it explodes, it will be times bigger than Chornobyl! The Russians must IMMEDIATELY stop the fire and allow firefighters to establish a safe zone!” Kuleba wrote.
According to The Guardian, based on information from the Ukrainian Emergency Service, in However, the radiation and fire safety conditions at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant would be “within normal limits”.
“Threat to global security! As a result of continuous enemy bombing of buildings and units of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire,” wrote the city’s mayor, Dmitry Orlov. , on your Telegram account.
International Energy Agency Alert Atomic
On Thursday (3), the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) , Argentine Rafael Grossi, had already warned and requested an immediate end to the use of violence near the plant. In a statement, the IAEA indicated that Ukraine had informed Grossi, “in an urgent letter”, of a battle that was taking place in the town of Enerhodar, near Zaporizhzhia, and on the road leading to the atomic plant.
According to Rossi, the Ukrainian regulatory authority warned that a large number of Russian tanks and infantry “crossed the blockade” towards the city of Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and which considered the situation “critical”.
Grossi “called for an immediate halt to the use of force in Enerhodar and asked the military forces operating there to refrain from violence near the nuclear plant,” the note said.
The director general of the agency added that the IAEA is trying to provide as much of assistance possible to Ukraine in its attempt to maintain nuclear security.
The Mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, announced on his Telegram channel that a fire is occurring at the Zaporizhzhia plant due to the confrontation.
“As a result of the continuous enemy bombardment of buildings and units of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire,” said the mayor, without giving further details.
The country, attacked and invaded eight days ago by the Russian Army, has 15 operational reactors in four atomic plants, in addition to the Chernobyl exclusion zone, where there are four closed reactors. The European Commission said it is working on a “contingency plan” in case Russia decides to attack one of these facilities.