A fire at the site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine—the largest nuclear power station in Europe—was extinguished after it experienced what Ukrainian authorities said was shelling from Russian forces early on Friday.
Ukraine’s state emergency service, in announcing that the fire had been put out, said in a statement on Facebook there were no victims in the incident.
The mayor of Enerhodar said in the early hours of Friday that Russian forces had attacked the plant. The plant, located in Enerhodar, a city on the Dnieper River, accounts for one-quarter of the country’s power generation.
Ukrainian forces have been fighting Russian troops, he said, adding there had been casualties, without elaborating. Earlier, Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian troops were stepping up efforts to seize the plant and had entered the town with tanks.
“As a result of strikes, there is a fire at the nuclear power plant. I repeat: as a result of strikes by Russian Federation forces on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a fire has erupted,” he said, according to a translation by The Associated Press.
He warned of “a real threat of a nuclear danger” at the power plant. “We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire at the energy blocks of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” the spokesperson added.
Tuz told Ukrainian television that one of the facility’s six reactors caught fire, adding that it has nuclear fuel inside but is under renovation and is not in operation. An adjacent five-story training facility also caught fire.
Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko told Bloomberg Television early Friday a missile hit the plant’s No. 1 unit.
The incident sparked emotional reactions from Ukrainian officials. In a video statement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian tanks shelled the nuclear station and that it could lead to evacuation for all of Europe.
“For the first time in the history of humanity! No country ever fired on nuclear energy blocks,” he said. "Russian tanks are shooting at the nuclear energy blocks at the atomic electro station. They have heat vision technology. They know exactly what they are targeting.
“Ukraine is 15 atomic blocks, if there is an explosion—it will be the end of everyone! It’s the end of Europe, it’s the evacuation of Europe. Only urgent action by Europe can stop the Russian military.”
The statement said Biden also spoke with Jill Hruby, who is the under secretary for nuclear security of the U.S. Department of Energy and the administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, to get an update on the situation. Biden “will continue to be briefed regularly,” according to the statement.
The escalation of conflict between Ukraine and Russia has entered its ninth day after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Feb. 24 declared a “special military operation” against Ukraine and said the operation is a response to threats from Ukraine and is aimed at demilitarizing the country. He said at the time Russia has no plan to occupy Ukraine and does not intend to target civilians. He also said the Ukrainian military should “immediately lay down its arms.” Putin didn’t specify how long the operation would be expected to take.
The United Nations said on Wednesday that more than 1 million people have fled Ukraine since the incursion.
Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, some 100 kilometres (62 miles) north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.
