Fire at Ukraine’s nuclear energy plant extinguished as Zelensky condemns ‘terrorist’ assault by Russia

Zelensky, referring to the Chernobyl tragedy and its victims, said that the fact that Russia is launching attacks around Ukraine’s nuclear plants is extremely dangerous.

“Ukraine has 15 nuclear reactors. If even considered one of them explodes, it is the top for all, it is the top of Europe. The entire of Europe must be evacuated,” he said.

“No nation has ever fired on nuclear energy plant reactors aside from Russia. For the primary time, for the primary time in historical past,” Zelensky urged European leaders to “get up now” and stop the Russian military “earlier than Be it a nuclear catastrophe.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Ukraine’s regulator had told the organization that there had been no change in the reported radiation levels and that “important” equipment was not affected by the fire.

United States Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the US has activated its nuclear incident response team and is monitoring the incidents in consultation with the Department of Defense, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the White House.

The plant’s reactors are being “safely shut down”, Granholm said, as he called for an end to military action near the facility. “The Russian navy operation close to the plant is reckless and must be shut down,” he said.

The IAEA said via Twitter on Friday that it has placed its Incident and Emergency Center “in full 24/7 response mode because of the grave scenario.”

US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson both discussed the situation in separate calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky early Friday. According to statements from London and Washington, the leaders called on Russia to cease military activities and allow full access to emergency workers.

The British statement said Johnson would call for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in the coming hours and that Britain would take up the issue with Russia and close allies.

plant attacked

Reports of an attack on the facility emerged on Friday morning, with video of the scene showing bursts of gunfire apparently directed at the Zaporizhzhya facility before dawn.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba tweeted: “Russian navy firing from all sides at Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear energy plant.”

IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said a large number of Russian tanks and infantry broke through “block-posts” to Enerhodar, which is a few kilometers from the Zaporizhzhya Power Plant.

Flames could also be seen in video footage, although for some time it was not clear where the fire was or how great the danger to the facility was.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Zaporizhzhia plant contains six of the country’s 15 nuclear power reactors.

According to Ukraine’s nuclear power operator Energotom, the facility accounts for a fifth of the average annual electricity generation in Ukraine.

In an interview with CNN on Thursday, The IAEA’s Grossi said the agency was in “fixed contact” with Ukrainian counterparts to ensure the security of facilities in Ukraine.

“What makes this unprecedented is that that is the primary time in post-World War II historical past that we now have carried out a full navy operation between numerous nuclear services, together with nuclear reactors,” Grossi said.

“There is at all times the danger of navy exercise that will have an effect on the websites or trigger some disruption or some disruption to the traditional operation of any of those services leading to an issue or an accident,” he said. .

Zaporizhzhia lies about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of the city of Donetsk, within one of two pro-Moscow regions recognized by Russia as an independent state last month.

UN resolution addresses nuclear threat

On Thursday, IAEA member states passed a resolution calling on Russia to stop cracking down on nuclear facilities in Ukraine, diplomats said.

The proposal, which was led by Canada and Poland, and supported by 26 other countries, called for Russia’s “aggressive exercise and assaults towards nuclear websites in Ukraine, and the seizure and management of nuclear services,” said Korin, the British ambassador in Vienna. Kitsell said.

According to the Czech Republic’s foreign ministry, only Russia and China voted against the proposal.

This is not the first nuclear reaction under threat from a Russian invasion. On the first day of the attack, Russian forces captured the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, according to Ukrainian officials.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant reactor exploded in 1986, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union—the beginning of a disaster that directly or indirectly affected 9 million people, due to radioactive material released into the atmosphere.

The IAEA said Ukraine had informed it that staff housed at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were facing “psychological strain and ethical exhaustion” since Russian navy forces took management of the location per week in the past, an IAEA assertion mentioned. According to.

In a joint enchantment to the worldwide nuclear watchdog, the Ukrainian authorities, regulatory authority and the nationwide operator mentioned the ability’s workers must be allowed to relaxation and roam in order that their important work might be carried out safely and securely.