Thick black smoke pours from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
Smoke can be seen billowing from one of the cooling towers tonight, representing the specter of a nuclear disaster during Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
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The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, in the south of the country, was a critical point during the war.
Russia captured it from Ukraine in a firefight in March 2022, after sending tanks and troops with RPGs to seize the sensitive area.
The Russian-installed regional governor of Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeny Balitsky, said tonight that the fire was caused by Ukrainian shelling.
Ukraine believes this is a lie, with one commander saying Russian forces set fire to “a large number of car tires in cooling towers”, Kyiv independent reported.
He said: “Six units of the plant are cold shut down, there is no explosion or other danger.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded by saying that Russia used the plant to blackmail the world.
He said: “Currently, radiation levels are within normal limits.
“However, as long as Russian terrorists maintain control of the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal.”
“From the first day of its seizure, Russia has used the Zaporizhzhia NPP only to blackmail Ukraine, all of Europe and the world.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) responded in a post on X this evening.
“IAEA experts witnessed heavy dark smoke coming from the northern area of the ZNPP following multiple explosions heard during the night.
“The team was informed by ZNPP of an alleged drone attack today on one of the cooling towers located at the site.
“No impacts were reported to nuclear safety.”
Internal inspectors have already warned that the site is heading towards a catastrophe.
It comes at a time when Ukraine may be trying to capture the Kursk nuclear power plant during its surprise invasion of the region.
Ukrainian troops have already spent six days inside Russian territory, replacing flags, capturing prisoners of war and capturing territory.
They penetrated 30 km deep, the Russian Defense Ministry said, leaving Putin “frightened and furious” at the ongoing attacks.
Russia is struggling to build fortifications around the atomic facility 100 km from the border with Ukraine.
Satellite images show the trenches south of Kurchatov, a town close to where the plant is located.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
