The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has put its emergency centre in full 24/7 response mode after a fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility early on Friday morning as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered the ninth day.
The power plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, has six total reactors. At least one reactor, which was under renovation and non-operational, was on fire and contained nuclear fuel, according to a plant spokesperson. But the fire was put out within hours.
Preliminary visuals of the fire showed continuous shelling and smoke rising on early Friday.
Dmytro Orlov, the mayor of Enerhodar, said on Friday that the plant was on fire as a result of continuous shelling of buildings by Russian troops.
“IAEA puts its Incident and Emergency Centre in full 24/7 response mode due to serious situation at #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine,” the international agency wrote on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, it had added that “essential” equipment at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was not affected.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, IAEA director general, had said earlier that “Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that 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.”
He added: “In an urgent letter to the director-general, the Ukraine regulatory authority added that Russian infantry troops were moving directly towards the site of Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant.”
Mr Grossi had also 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”.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility powers more than a fifth of the total electricity generated in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, US energy secretary Jennifer Granholm said the reactors at the nuclear power station “are protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down”.
She wrote on Twitter: “I just spoke with Ukraine’s energy minister about the situation at the Zaphorizhizia nuclear plant. Russian military operations near the plant are reckless and must cease.”
She had also confirmed that the US Department of Energy has “activated its Nuclear Incident Response Team and is monitoring events” in consultation with the US Department of Defense and US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the White House. “We have seen no elevated radiation readings near the facility.”
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba urged for an immediate ceasefire at the site to avoid a catastrophic nuclear disaster that would be “ten times larger than Chernobyl”.
US president Joe Biden and UK prime minister Boris Johnson also demanded that Russian troops cease firing on the Ukrainian power plant and make way for emergency services.
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