Russian troops capture Europe’s largest power plant in Ukraine after intense battle – National | Globalnews.ca
Russian forces have captured Europe’s largest nuclear power plant after attacking it overnight Friday, which started at least one fire, officials said as the invasion into Ukraine entered its second week.
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, near the town of Energodar, was occupied by Russian military troops after confirming no changes to radiation levels following intense fighting and shelling at the station.
The attacks sparked a fire at a nearby administrative building outside the station’s perimeter, officials confirmed. The fire was extinguished hours later, but still led to growing concerns about radiation levels and a potential nuclear event.
The world’s leading nuclear authorities said they were concerned — but not panicked — about the damage to the power station, which supplies about one quarter of Ukraine’s power generation.
The Ukrainian regulator said staff at the station was ensuring its safe operation and the state of the six power units, only one of which was in operation. The rest were either offline or being cooled down.
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A live video feed of the overnight fighting showed one building aflame, and a volley of incoming shells, before a large candescent ball lit up the sky, exploding beside a car park and sending smoke billowing across the compound.
“Europeans, please wake up. Tell your politicians – Russian troops are shooting at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address while warning of a potentially catastrophic disaster.
Zelenskyy said Russian tanks had shot at the nuclear reactor plants, though there was no evidence cited that they had been hit.
Energodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov said in an online post that there had been fierce fighting between local forces and Russian troops on the town’s outskirts before the plant itself had been attacked, adding that there had been casualties without giving details.
Ukraine’s state emergency services agency later confirmed a fire had broken out at a training building outside the plant perimeter. Constant shelling prevented firefighters from accessing the fire for hours, with the fire finally getting extinguished after dawn broke.
There were no casualties, the agency confirmed.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had been informed by Ukrainian officials that no “essential” equipment at the station was affected by the attacks or resulting fires. It added Ukrainian regulators have indicated there has been no change in radiation levels.
Nuclear plant spokesman Andriy Tuz told Ukrainian television that shells had fallen directly on the facility and had set fire to one of its six reactors. That reactor is under renovation and not operating, but there is nuclear fuel inside, he said.
Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter that Russian forces had been “firing from all sides” of the plant. He called on the Russians to establish a security zone and allow firefighters through.
The White House said U.S. President Joe Biden had spoken to Zelenskyy about the situation at the plant, and urged Russia to stop all military activities in the area.
Biden is also in touch with U.S. energy officials about the situation, the White House statement added.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also spoke with Zelenskyy along with Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
“These unacceptable attacks by Russia must cease immediately,” Trudeau wrote on Twitter.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who also spoke with Zelenskyy, condemned the Russian attack and called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, his press office said. Russia currently chairs the council.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Twitter the reactors at the Zaporizhzhia station “are protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down.” She said she had spoken with her Ukrainian counterpart about the situation.
Early reports of the incident at the power plant sent financial markets in Asia spiraling, with stocks tumbling and oil prices surging further.
Video showed flames and black smoke rising above Energodar, a city of more than 50,000, with people streaming past wrecked cars, just a day after the U.N. atomic watchdog agency expressed grave concern that the fighting could cause accidental damage to Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors.
Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, some 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv. Some analysts noted the Zaporizhzhia plant is of a different and safer type to Chernobyl.
Sanctions mount as fighting continues
The invasion of Ukraine is entering its ninth day. Thousands are thought to have died or been wounded as the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two unfolds, creating 1 million refugees, hits to Russia’s economy, and fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.
On Thursday, Russia and Ukraine negotiators agreed to the need for humanitarian corridors to help civilians escape and to deliver medicines and food to the areas where fighting was the fiercest.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said a temporary halt to fighting in select locations was also possible.
The negotiators will meet again next week, the Belarusian state news agency Belta quoted Podolyak as saying.
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Only one Ukrainian city, the southern port of Kherson, has fallen to Russian forces since the invasion was launched on Feb. 24, but Russian forces continue to surround and attack other cities.
Mariupol, the main port on the Sea of Azov, was surrounded and under heavy bombardment. Water and power was cut off, and officials say they cannot evacuate the wounded.
Video posted on Twitter from Mariupol, and verified by Reuters, showed parked vehicles burning while non-stop firing reverberated around surrounding apartment blocks.
The northeastern city of Kharkiv has been under attack since the start of the invasion, but defenders are holding out in the heavily shelled city.
While no major assault has been launched on Kyiv, the capital has been shelled, and Russian forces unleashed devastating firepower to break resistance in the outlying town of Borodyanka.
In Washington, a U.S. defense official said Russian troops were still 25 km (16 miles) from Kyiv city center. Earlier on Thursday, the British Ministry of Defence said a huge Russia convoy rumbling southwards toward Kyiv, was advancing slowly, partly due to resistance, but also due to logistical issues.
The United States and Britain announced sanctions on more Russian oligarchs on Thursday, following on from EU measures, as they ratcheted up the pressure on the Kremlin.
More companies including Google, footwear giant Nike and Swedish home furnishing firm IKEA shut down or reduced operations in Russia as trade restrictions and supply constraints added to political pressure.
Airbnb announced on Thursday that it would suspend all operations in Russia and Belarus, an ally to Moscow that has facilitated Russia’s invasion.
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Sanctions have “had a profound impact already,” Biden said.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” that is not designed to occupy territory but to topple the democratically elected government, destroy its neighbor’s military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists. It denies targeting civilians.
Russian human rights activist and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov called on Western countries to eject Russia from the global police agency Interpol, and impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
“Russia should be thrown back into the Stone Age to make sure that the oil and gas industry and any other sensitive industries that are vital for survival of the regime cannot function without Western technological support,” Kasparov said.
–With files from Reuters and the Associated Press
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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