Fears regarding the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant rose on early Friday morning after Russian forces continued shelling at the plant site. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and is on fire due to Russian shelling.
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Zaporizhzhia mayor Dmytro Orlov, according to Ukraine-based news agency the Kyiv Independent, said that the plant caught fire. Reports shared by news agencies later confirmed that the fire was in the perimeter of the nuclear power plant.
Firefighters have been allowed to enter the site and have begun operations to contain the blaze.
The power station which is based in Ukraine’s Enerhodar accounts for about one-quarter of Ukraine’s power generation and is based next to the Dnipro River.
Plant spokesman Andriy Tuz was quoted as saying by Ukrainian news agencies that shells were falling directly and one of the six reactors is currently on fire. An Associated Press (AP) report quoting him also pointed out that the reactor is under renovation and not operating but concerns remain as it has nuclear fuel inside.
“There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe,’ Tuz said.
Elevated levels of radiation were detected near the site of the plant, a person familiar with the developments told news agency AP. About 25% of Ukraine’s power generation comes from the plant.
The Ukrainian officials later clarified to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that there was no change in radiation levels at the nuclear plant.
The atomic watchdog agency of the United Nations (UN), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed concern that the ongoing conflict in the eastern European country poses threat to its nuclear power plants. Ukraine has 15 nuclear reactors.
Mariana Budjeryn, an Ukrainian nuclear expert who is a researcher at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Centre and is part of the Managing The Atom Project, told UK-based news agency The Guardian that it is necessary to keep the nuclear reaction moderated for which pumps need to ensure the flow of cold water into the reactors.
If that does not happen the core can explode as the water inside will boil out. Budjeryn also pointed out that the confinement chamber could capture the radiation from release into the environment as these chambers are designed to withstand some level of impact. She, however, remained concerned whether the chambers can withstand the intensity of such shelling.
Ukraine foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Russians to stop shelling the nuclear power plant warning that the fallout will be ten times larger than the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster which happened in April 1986.
Enerhodar, a city of more than 50,000, has seen a rise in hostilities as shelling continued on the ninth day of Russia’s so-called military operation in Ukraine. The capital city Kyiv has not yet capitulated under Russian firepower but the Russian forces have gained considerable ground in the southern parts of Ukraine with fighting ongoing in Odessa, Zaporizhzhia and Mariupol.
Kherson, a port city of 280,000, was the latest to fall to Russian forces. Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russians took over the city.
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