Photo: Vadim Ghirda/AP
A nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, has been deemed safe after a fire broke out due to an attack from Russian troops.
“The director of the plant said that the nuclear safety is now guaranteed,” Oleksandr Starukh, governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, stated on Thursday, per theAssociated Press' Twitter account.
The Associated Press reported firefighters could not at first get near the fire at Zaporizhzhia to contain the blaze because they were being shot at, Andriy Tuz, a plant spokesperson, said.
The troops were seemingly engaged in active combat, with footage also showing what appeared to be the fire in one of the plant’s administrative buildings.
In astatementon Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Ukraine had informed it of the situation, writing, “a large number of Russian tanks and infantry ‘broke through the block-post’ to the town of Enerhodar, a few kilometres from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.”
In a letter to the Director General, the Ukraine regulatory authority said, “The battle is going on in the town of Enerhodar and on the road to the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant) site,” adding that the situation was “critical.”
“Director General Grossi appealed for an immediate halt to the use of force at Enerhodar and called on the military forces operating there to refrain from violence near the nuclear power plant. He said the IAEA continues to consult with Ukraine and others with a view to provide maximum possible assistance to the country as it seeks to maintain nuclear safety and security in the current difficult circumstances,” said the statement from IAEA.
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Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyycalled for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend. “Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
