Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: everything you need to know

AP

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the largest in Europe and ninth largest in the world - has been taken over by Russian forces in an attack that Boris Johnson said could “directly threaten the safety of all of Europe”.

Ukraine’s foreign minister confirmed the reports at 2.30am on Friday, tweeting that the Russian army was “firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out.”

By approximately 4.30am, according to Ukrainian authorities, the fire which was at a training building had been extinguished.

There were no immediate reports of any deaths or injuries.

AP

What is so important about Zaporizhzhia?

The power plant, in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, was built between 1984 and 1995. Its six reactors create enough energy to power around four million homes.

The shelling of the plant came as the Russian military pressed their attack on a crucial energy-producing Ukrainian city and gained ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea.

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
Six power units generate 40-42 billion kWh of electricity making the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant the largest nuclear power plant in Europe
Barcroft Media via Getty Images

What happened on Friday morning?

The plant’s spokesman Andriy Tuz told Ukrainian television that shells were falling directly on the Zaporizhzhia plant and had set fire to one of the facility’s six reactors.

Firefighters could not get near the fire because they were being shot at, Mr Tuz said.

That reactor was under renovation and not operating, he said.

The mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, announced on his Telegram channel Friday morning that “the fire at the (nuclear plant) has indeed been extinguished.”

His office told The Associated Press that the information came from firefighters who were allowed onto the site overnight.

The power plant lies just outside the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia
Google Maps

Is there a danger of radiation?

Leading nuclear authorities were worried — but not panicked — about the damage to the power station.

The Ukrainian nuclear regulator and the International Atomic Energy Agency have stated that radiation levels remained within normal limits during the assault.

The regulator noted in a statement on Facebook the importance of maintaining the ability to cool nuclear fuel, saying the loss of such ability could lead to an accident even worse than 1986 Chernobyl accident, the world’s worst nuclear disaster, or the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns in Japan.

In a series of statements posted to Twitter, the agency said: “Ukraine regulator tells IAEA there has been no change reported in radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant site.

“Ukraine tells IAEA that fire at site of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has not affected ‘essential’ equipment, plant personnel taking mitigatory actions.”

It also noted that there is a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel at the site, though there was no sign that facility was hit by shelling.

Russia invades Ukraine - In pictures

Airstrikes hit Kharkiv, Ukraine
1/56

Who holds the power plant now?

Russian military forces have seized the nuclear power plant, the regional state administration said on Friday.

“Operational personnel are monitoring the condition of power units,” it said on social media, quoting the Ukrainian nuclear inspectorate.

How did Ukraine react?

In a video posted in the middle of the night, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he feared an explosion at the nuclear plant would be “the end for everyone. The end for Europe. The evacuation of Europe”.

“Only urgent action by Europe can stop the Russian troops,” he said. “Do not allow the death of Europe from a catastrophe at a nuclear power station.”

Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Ukrainian evacuation - In pictures

People wait to board an evacuaition train at Kyiv central train station
1/44

What did the UK do?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke with Mr Zelensky after news broke about the fire.

A Downing Street spokeswoman called the situation “gravely concerning”, adding: “Both leaders agreed that Russia must immediately cease its attack on the power station and allow unfettered access for emergency services to the plant.

“The Prime Minister said the reckless actions of President Putin could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe. He said the UK would do everything it could to ensure the situation did not deteriorate further.

“The Prime Minister said he would be seeking an emergency UN Security Council meeting in the coming hours, and that the UK would raise this issue immediately with Russia and close partners.

“Both leaders agreed a ceasefire was crucial.”

Dominic Raab said it was “doubly reprehensible” that Russian forces had continued to shell the nuclear site.

The Deputy Prime Minister told Sky News the Russians had inflicted a bombardment on a “very sensitive, precarious and dangerous facility”.

He said: “The fact that the Russians kept on bombarding after there was the fire and the Ukrainian emergency rescue team were trying to get to that makes it doubly reprehensible.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in