by Pavel Polityuk and Max Hunder
KYIV, Aug 28 (Reuters) – Russian artillery shelled towns across the river overnight from Ukraine’s Zaporizhia power plant, local authorities said, fueling fears once again. nuclear disaster.
The Russian Defense Minister said on Sunday that Ukrainian shelling around the plant had intensified in the past 24 hours, just a day after Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of targeting Europe’s largest nuclear power plant. , thus arousing great concern among the international community.
Ukrainian nuclear company Energoatom said it had no new information about attacks on the plant.
Under Russian control since March but still run by Ukrainian personnel, the complex on the southern frontline of the war is one of the main flashpoints in the six-month conflict.
The region’s governor, Oleksandr Starukh, said on Telegram on Sunday that Russian strikes hit residential buildings in the region’s main city, Zaporizhia, about two hours’ drive from the power plant, and in the city of Orikhiv. , the further east.
In its daily report, the Ukrainian army mentioned the bombardment of nine other towns in the area located on the bank opposite the central Dnieper river.
For his part, the Russian Ministry of Defence, quoted by the RIA agency, declared that his forces had touched the Motor Sich helicopter maintenance plant, located in this region.
Reuters could not verify this information.
Spokesman for the Russian Defense Minister, Igor Konashenkov, said nine shells fired by Ukrainian artillery in two separate attacks hit land at the nuclear power plant.
“Currently, technical personnel are monitoring the technical condition of the nuclear power plant and ensuring its operation. The radiation situation in the nuclear power plant area remains normal,” he said in a statement.
The United Nations and Kyiv have called for the withdrawal of military equipment and personnel from the plant to prevent it from becoming a target.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear control body, is awaiting permission to visit the site, which should happen very quickly, according to its officials.
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said Friday that the Zaporijjia situation remained “very risky”.
Two of the plant’s six reactors were shut down on Thursday due to lack of power to the plant for several hours. The reactors were reconnected to the Ukrainian electricity network on Friday. (Reporting Max Hunder Kyiv with Reuters bureaus; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Tomasz Janowski, French version Jean-Michel Blot)