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Ukraine nuclear power plant fire, sparked by Russia attack, put out
Ukraine emergency services say they have extinguished a fire at Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
A fire that broke out in a training building near the largest nuclear power plant in Europe during intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has been extinguished, Ukraine's state emergency service said on Friday.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said there was no indication of elevated radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which provides more than a fifth of total electricity generated in Ukraine.
Ukraine regulators told the International Atomic Energy watchdog of the United Nations (IAEA) that essential equipments in the plant are safe and the mitigation steps are being taken by the Ukraine regulators.
A video of the blaze was uploaded on Twitter by Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the Head of the Office of President of Ukraine , who wrote: "Zaporizhzhia NPP is under fire! The entire Europe is at risk of a repeat of the nuclear catastrophe. Russians must stop fire!"
In the 1 minute, 27 second-long clip, several rounds of ‘Russian shelling’ can be seen landing in the power plant site.
"Europe needs to wake up. The biggest nuclear power plant in Europe is on fire right now. Russian tanks are shooting at the nuclear blocks. These are tanks equipped with thermal imagers so they know what they are shooting at. They have prepared for it," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address.
The mayor of the nearby town of Energodar about 550 km (342 miles) southeast of Kyiv said fierce fighting and "continuous enemy shelling" had caused casualties in the area, without providing details.
Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, about 100 km north of Kyiv, which spewed radioactive waste over much of Europe when it melted down in 1986. The Zaporizhzhia plant is a different and safer type, some analysts said.
U.S. President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson both spoke with Zelenskiy to get an update on the situation at the plant.
(With inputs from Reuters)
