NUCLEAR WARNING
Damage to Europe’s biggest nuclear plant after Russian attack could trigger ‘biggest radiation leak in history’
DAMAGE to Europe's biggest nuclear power plant caused by Russian shelling could trigger the biggest radiation leak in history, Ukraine's nuclear regulator has warned.
The enormous facility in Enerhodar, southern Ukraine, is under the control of Vladimir Putin's forces after sustained attacks overnight.
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Security footage from the site 32 miles from Ukraine's sixth-biggest city Zaporizhzhia shows flames and smoke leaking from buildings.
Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate warned on Friday that while no changes in radiation have been registered yet, there are still potential risks posed by any damage to cooling facilities and spent fuel storage containers at the site.
The agency said any loss of the power station's ability to cool down nuclear fuel would lead to "significant radioactive releases into the environment".
It said such an event might "exceed all previous accidents at nuclear power plants, including the Chernobyl accident and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The agency didn't say whether cooling facilities had been damaged by Russian shelling.
Four of the plant's six units were being cooled down, while one was in outage, and one in operation.
The regulator added that spent nuclear fuel stored at the site posed a further risk.
"It shall be reminded that in addition to six power units at the Zaporizhzhia NPP site, there is a spent nuclear fuel storage facility, damage of which due to shelling will also lead to radioactive releases," it said.
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Russian forces had been advancing on the plant throughout the day and smoke was seen rising as the battle raged in the early hours.
At least three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and three injured in the fighting overnight.
Fire crews were reportedly unable to get near the blaze because they were being shot at by the Russians.
In a chilling warning, Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said: "If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chernobyl.
"Russians must immediately cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone."
This morning, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said: "The Zaporizhzhia NPP site has been seized by the military forces of the Russian Federation."
It said employees were continuing to work on the site and added that no changes in the radiation state had been recorded so far.
The fire was put out earlier this morning after blazing for around four hours.
But it warned the loss of cooling nuclear fuel will lead to "significant radioactive emissions into the environment," and that this scale of event "may outgrow all previous nuclear power plant accidents, including Chernobyl and Fukushima-Daichi".
It added that damage to a reservoir of processed nuclear fuel as a result of the shelling will lead to a release of radiation.
Only one of the plant's six nuclear reactors was working while the other five were either disconnected or being cooled.
Staff at the site 350 miles south of the capital Kyiv are working to inspect the damage and keep the site safe.
On Friday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of unleashing "nuclear terror", and claimed Putin wanted a repeat of the Chernobyl disaster.
In a video posted this morning, he said: "You know the word Chernobyl. No country other than Russia has ever fired on nuclear power units.
"This is the first time in our history. In the history of mankind.
"The terrorist state now resorted to nuclear terror," he added.
"Europe needs to wake up. The biggest nuclear power plant in Europe is on fire right now.
"Russian tanks are shooting at the nuclear blocks. These are tanks equipped with thermal imagers, so they know what they are aiming at."
It comes as...
- One of Vladimir Putin’s top generals was shot dead by a sniper in a major blow to the Kremlin’s war plan to annihilate Ukraine
- Plans have been drawn up to carry out public executions in Ukrainian cities
- Terrifying dashcam footage has caught the moment Russian bombs flew overhead and slammed into a block of flats
- Putin issued a ferocious defence of his invasion of Ukraine tonight, bizarrely claiming the war has been a "success"
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stood defiant as he vowed Vladimir Putin would pay the price for every dead Ukrainian.
- Kyiv remains under siege as Russia continues to advance across the whole of Ukraine
- Kherson became the first city to be captured by Vladimir Putin's forces amid major bloodshed in Kharkiv, Mariupol and Chernihiv
- Russian soldiers were pictured crying and begging to return home after being captured
- Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov - who bankrolled Everton - had his £600million superyacht seized in Germany
Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko warned that radiation from a potential leak at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "will reach as far as the UK and France," as she called on President Biden, Boris Johnson, and the EU to "wake up".
Russia's defence ministry has tried to blame the attack at the site on so-called Ukrainian saboteurs.
A Russian spokesman said the nuclear plant was operating normally and the area had been under Russian control since February 28, Reuters reported.
"However, last night on the territory adjacent to the power plant, an attempt was made by the Kyiv nationalist regime to carry out a monstrous provocation," spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying.
Following the fire at Zaporizhzhia, the IAEA's director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, has offered to travel to the Chernobyl site for negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.
"The situation continues to be extremely tense and challenging," he said.
He added: "The physical integrity of the plant has been compromised with what happened last night.
"We are fortunate that there was no release of radiation and the integrity of the reactors themselves were not compromised.
"I have indicated to both the Russian Federation and Ukraine my availability and disposition to travel to Chernobyl as soon as possible."
Boris Johnson spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart about the "gravely concerning situation" which was the result of Vladimir Putin's "reckless actions", Downing Street said.
The PM will be seeking an emergency UN Security Council meeting in the coming hours, the spokesman added.
🔵 Read our Russia - Ukraine live blog for the very latest updates
In addition, US President Joe Biden announced new sanctions Thursday against Russian oligarchs and their families in an attempt to pressure Putin to deescalate the situation.
The sanctions would allow the seizure of money and other assets, including luxury yachts and apartments, belonging to Russian oligarchs in US jurisdiction, according to a statement from the White House.
Russian armoured vehicles first appeared in the CCTV footage around 2am local time.
They lined up on a road running through the plant and unleashed salvoes at buildings to their left, which exploded as they were hit.
Shortly after local Mayor Dmytro Orlov confirmed the plant was ablaze.
"As a result of continuous enemy shelling of buildings and units of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire," he said.
He added there has been fierce fighting between local forces and Russian troops and there have been casualties.
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In the aftermath of the Russian assault, there were conflicting reports about the radiation levels.
A Ukrainian government official said elevated levels of radiation had already been detected at the plant - but the plant's authorities later said its safety had been secured.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier said it had put its Incident and Emergency Centre in ";full 24/7 response mode" due to the "serious situation" unfolding at Zaporizhzhia.
A spokesman for the plant Andriy Tuz earlier urged Russian forces to stop their attack and said firefighters were unable to tackle the blaze because they were being shot at.
"There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe," he said.
Earlier terrifying video shows black smoke rising from the outskirts of the city, amid fears some Russian soldiers have already broken through the Ukrainian line.
The terrorist state now resorted to nuclear terror
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Enerhodar, on the left bank of the Dnieper River and the Khakovka Reservoir, is a major energy hub, and the nuclear plant accounts for a quarter of Ukraine's total power generation.
The IAEA said essential equipment at the nuclear power plant had been unaffected by the fire, and there was no recorded change in radiation levels.
It said: "The Ukraine regulatory authority said a fire at the site had not affected 'essential' equipment and plant personnel were taking mitigatory actions.
"There was no reported change in radiation levels at the plant, it said."
Previously, a Ukrainian spokesman warned Putin's actions "could lead to another nuclear disaster, affecting the entire world".
He added: "The city of Enerhodar, housing the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, is preparing for a battle with the invaders.
"If shells hit near the nuclear power plant, they will damage transformers, turbines, and other equipment that ensures the plant's safety.
"To prevent this from happening, the entrance to Enerhodar is guarded by the brave station workers and military."
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Pictures earlier on Thursday showed brave Ukrainians forming a human barricade in front of the nuclear plant to prevent Russian troops from seizing it.
Hundreds of people lined the road to Enerhodar after Kyiv warned Russia risked creating "a new Chernobyl" if it went ahead with an attack.
Local people were joined by workers brandishing Ukrainian flags in barricading the nuclear power station in Enerhodar on Wednesday.
Government official Anton Gerashchenko said Ukrainians would fight to the last man to defend one of the country's main energy sources.
"The city where the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located is preparing for a battle with the invaders," he said.
"The nuclear power plant is guarded by the heroes of the National Guard of Ukraine.
"They won't give up! There will be a fight. Shells will fire next to the nuclear power plant.
"They will not be able to break through the concrete shell of the reactor, but they will definitely damage transformers, turbines and other equipment necessary for the safety of the nuclear power plant."
He eerily added: "An accident can happen like at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant or the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
"Russian generals - think again!"
The head of the IAEA expressed "grave concern" that invading Russian troops were operating close to Zaporizhzhia.
Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said an accident at the plant would "have severe consequences for public health and the environment".
The attack on the plant may be a violation of a UN resolution passed in 1990 on the Prohibition of Attacks on Nuclear Facilities.
Part of the resolution specifies that the UN Security Council "would have to act immediately".
Former BBC journalist John Sweeney, who is in Kyiv, warned that the seizure of the facility "means Vladimir Putin can play nuclear blackmail against Ukraine and Europe".
The UK's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has this morning condemned the shelling of Enerhodar as "reckless, irresponsible, and reprehensible," and told Times Radio: "It must stop".
He added that the seizure was a "much wider threat given the nuclear implications to neighbours and its affront to the world at large".
Raab also said Britain fears the Russians will try and take out President Zelenskyy, warning that "the Russian playbook has involved targeted assassinations".
He said Putin and his generals "face the very real risk" of being tried for war crimes, and added Russian soldiers should consider that "when they're faced with illegal orders".
It comes days after Putin's forces captured the Chernobyl reactor on Friday.
Guards fought back as officials warned a direct hit on waste stores could spread a radioactive dust cloud over the whole of Europe.
Data from the automated radiation monitoring suggests the control levels of gamma radiation dose rate in the exclusion zone have surpassed safe levels.
Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate blamed the spike on a "disturbance" caused by Russian forces rolling through, saying a large amount of heavy military equipment in the exclusion zone had unsettled the topsoil at the sensitive site.
Gerashchenko said there was still time for Russia to avoid "a new Chernobyl".
He said: "Radiation does not know nationalities, one does not spare anyone!”
A message from Energoatom CEO Petro Kotin said columns of Russian military equipment and forces were approaching with "shells exploding near the nuclear power plant".
He said: "We call on the IAEA to intervene to prevent occupying forces in the 30-kilometre zone around our nuclear power plants" in Enerhodar and in Voznesensk, Mykolaiv region.
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He also called on the Chernobyl reactor to be handed back to Ukrainian troops.
On Friday, Russia's Ministry of Defence spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov was quoted by Russian media as saying his forces had "complete control" of the Zaporizhzhia plant and had men working there.
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