KYIV – A fire erupted at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant followingshelling by Russian troops in Ukrainian city of Energodar as the warentered the second week.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba warned that if the Zaporizhzhiapower plant “blows up” it will be ten-time disastrous than the Chernobylincident.
He also urged Moscow to bar troops from firing at the power plant, which isalso accounts for one-fourth of total power production in Ukraine, sofirefighters could extinguish the blaze.
Plant spokesman Andriy Tuz claimed that the shells directly fell on theZaporizhzhia plant, breaking out fire at one of the facility’s six reactors.
Talking to Ukrainian television, he said that the reactor is currently notoperation due to renovation, but nuclear fuel deposits are inside thefacility.
The fighting between the forces of two neighbouring countries at Enerhodarcame as both sides reached an tentative agreement to establish a safecorridors inside Ukraine to evacuate citizens and deliver humanitarian aid.
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Meanwhile, world leaders including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hasurged Russia to immediately cease an attack on the nuclear power plant.
“The prime minister said the reckless actions of President Putin could nowdirectly threaten the safety of all of Europe,” Downing Street said.
“He said the UK would do everything it could to ensure the situation didnot deteriorate further,” it added. “Both leaders agreed a ceasefire wascrucial.”
