*This story was first published on RNZ and is republished with permission*
Ukraine emergency services say they've managed to extinguish the fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after it was shelled by Russian forces.
The Ukranian State Emergency Service wrote on their social media accounts that the fire was now out and there were no injuries.
Energodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov has now told told a broadcaster that fighting at the nuclear plant has now stopped, says BBC Ukrainian.
It comes after the plant reportedly sustained several hours of heavy shelling.
According to Ukrainian emergency officials, the fighting sparked fires on the third, fourth and fifth floor of a building at the nuclear complex.
In a video posted on Twitter, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russians of deliberately shooting at the Zaporizhzhia plant's six reactors using tanks equipped with thermal imaging.
Invoking the "global catastrophe" at Chernobyl in 1986, he warned the consequences of a meltdown at Zaporizhzhia would be far worse.
"Europeans, wake up please. Tell your politicians that Russian forces are shooting at the nuclear plant in Ukraine," he begged.
Russian troops had tried to enter the city in tanks and seize the plant, but residents and workers were seen congregating around the plant and its surrounding roads on Wednesday.
Ukraine has four active nuclear plants including Zaporizhzhia. It also deals with nuclear waste at sites like Chernobyl, now under Russian control.
