Russian troops occupied the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Europe this Friday, after an attack that caused a fire without consequences in radioactivity levels, but which paralyzed the world in fear of a new atomic catastrophe.
Russian projectiles hit the facilities of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant, located about 150 kilometers north of the Crimean peninsula, in the early hours of Friday, sparking a fire in a building and a laboratory.
After a few hours of alarm, in which the Ukrainian president Volodimir Zelenski warned of a possible disaster “ten times bigger than Chernobyl”, referring to the catastrophic nuclear accident of 1986 in that country, the relief services were able to extinguish the flames, according to the Kiev authorities.
“There have been no changes in the radiation situation,” said Ukraine’s atomic plant inspection agency, which confirmed that Russian forces had occupied the territory of the plant.
Of the six blocks, the first was put out of service, numbers 2, 3, 5 and 6 are in the cooling process and 4 is operational, he said.
Zelensky claimed that it was Russian tanks that opened fire. “These tanks are equipped with thermal sights, so they know what they’re doing, they were prepared,” he said.
“We must prevent Europe from dying of a nuclear disaster,” said the president, calling for tougher sanctions against Moscow.
The Russian attack shocked the world.
US President Joe Biden immediately contacted his Ukrainian counterpart, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg condemned Russia’s “irresponsibility” on Friday.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Argentine Rafael Grossi, offered on Friday to travel to the Chernobyl plant and negotiate with Ukraine and Russia guarantees for the safety of Ukrainian nuclear facilities.
