Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of bombing the plant, which was taken over by Russian forces in early March, along with the town of Enerhodar, where the complex is located. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed Moscow for the attack, calling the strikes a “brazen crime” and an “act of terrorism”. “Today, the occupiers have created another extremely dangerous situation for everyone in Europe,” he said in his Friday night speech. The Russian Defense Ministry denied the claim, saying the Ukrainians had carried out three artillery strikes on the plant and the surrounding area. The ministry added that the production capacity of one unit at the plant had been reduced and power supply to another was interrupted. Ukraine’s state nuclear operator Energoatom has accused Russian forces of hitting the Zaporizhia plant and using the complex as a staging ground to strike nearby targets, including several in the occupied city of Enerhodar and the nearby Ukrainian-controlled city of Nikopol. When fierce fighting first broke out near the facility in the early days of the war, it sparked fears of a nuclear fallout and drew condemnation from the international community. Russian troops forced its managers to work “at gunpoint” after seizing the plant on March 5, according to Ukrainian nuclear officials. A week later, the Kremlin sent officials and technicians from Russia’s state nuclear agency to help carry out repairs and manage the facility. Ukrainian and Russian personnel have been working side by side ever since, and communication with the outside world has been intermittent. Energoatom said on Friday that Russian shelling hit in and around the nuclear complex and damaged water extraction facilities, cutting off power and water to much of Enerhodar. “Three hits were recorded directly at the site of the station,” the Ukrainian agency said, claiming that one was “near one of the power plants where the nuclear reactor is located.” CNN was unable to verify claims of damage to the factory, which occupies a large space. Much of the recent Russian fire in the area has come from near the plant, and it is unclear whether parts of the nuclear facility were accidentally hit. Energoatom said on Saturday that the plant was operational and Ukrainian staff at the station continued to work to ensure radiation safety. Ukrainian prosecutors have launched an investigation into the incident.
Zaporizhzhia factory “out of control”
The exact danger posed by the explosions in and around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remains unclear. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that the situation at the plant was “completely out of control.” “Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated,” he said, calling on Russia and Ukraine to allow experts to visit the site. “What is at stake is extremely serious and extremely serious and dangerous.” Other officials were more measured, pointing to the fact that recent nuclear power facilities are designed to withstand terrorist attacks and natural disasters. Several Western and Ukrainian officials believe that Russia is now using the giant nuclear facility as a fortress to protect its troops and stage attacks, because they assume that Kyiv will not fight back and risk a crisis. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Moscow on Monday of using the plant to shield its forces, and Ukraine has warned that bombing the complex could be devastating. “The possible consequences of hitting a functioning reactor are equivalent to using an atomic bomb,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Friday on Twitter. The United Kingdom said the actions at the complex have undermined the safety of the plant’s operations. “Russian forces likely used the wider area of the facility, particularly the neighboring town of Enerhodar, to rest their forces, using the protection status of the nuclear plant to reduce the risk to their equipment and personnel from Ukrainian attacks at night.” , the British ministry said. the defense agency said Friday in a Twitter briefing. The Ukrainian mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, said in late July that Russian forces had been observed using heavy weaponry near the plant because “they know very well that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not respond to these attacks, as they can damage the nuclear energy. plant.” CNN’s Joshua Berlinger, Lauren Kent, Yulia Kesaieva and Petro Zadorozhnny contributed to this report.
