Zelenskyy calls bombing of nuclear power plant “act of terror”


Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling the Russian-held Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. On Friday afternoon, the Ukrainian army fired on the factory premises, reported several Russian agencies, citing the occupation administration of the city of Enerhodar, where the power plant is located. Two power lines were cut and a fire broke out. The information could not be independently verified. The Ukrainian side, on the other hand, said the Russians had shelled the area themselves.
As a result of the Russian attacks, a high-voltage line to the neighboring thermal power plant was damaged, according to the Ukrainian state-owned nuclear company Enerhoatom. A block of the nuclear power plant had been shut down. According to the group, no radioactivity escaped. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the radiation escape was avoided only through fortunate circumstances. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spoke of repeated provocations by Russia at the power plant and stated that shelling an active reactor could be tantamount to using a nuclear bomb.
The escaped mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, warned the remaining citizens that residential areas would be shelled from the power plant site. The British secret service also recently came to the conclusion that the actions of the Russian Armed Forces with high probability the Endangering the safety of the Zaporizhia NPP.

Just a few days ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed concern about the situation around the power plant, which, with six blocks and an output of 6,000 megawatts, is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. An inspection to check technical safety is urgently needed, said IAEA boss Rafael Grossi. But it is currently very difficult for the IAEA to even get into the war zone in Zaporizhia.



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