Fire at cooling tower of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Kyiv and Moscow are trading blame for the fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, but as yet there is no detected spike in radiation levels

A cooling tower at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine is on fire. Picture: X/Twitter.

A fire has broken out at a cooling tower of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, with Kyiv and Moscow trading blame for the incident.

Both sides and the International Atomic Energy Agency said there had been no detected spike in radiation levels around the power station, which has been under the control of Russian forces since the first days of its full-scale military offensive.

“As a result of shelling of the town of Energodar by the Ukrainian armed forces, there was a fire at a cooling system of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station,” Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region said on Telegram.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a social media post “Russian occupiers have started a fire” at the plant.

“Currently, radiation levels are within the norm,” he added.

Enerhodar. We have recorded from Nikopol that the Russian occupiers have started a fire on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Currently, radiation levels are within norm. However, as long as the Russian terrorists maintain control over the nuclear plant, the… pic.twitter.com/TQUi3BJg4J

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 11, 2024

Balitsky also reported the “radiation background” around the facility was normal.

The IAEA said the fire did not appear to represent a threat to nuclear safety.

“IAEA experts witnessed strong dark smoke coming from ZNPP’s northern area following multiple explosions heard in the evening,” the agency said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

“No impact has been reported for nuclear safety,” it added.

IAEA experts witnessed strong dark smoke coming from ZNPP’s northern area following multiple explosions heard in the evening. Team was told by ZNPP of an alleged drone attack today on one of the cooling towers located at the site. No impact has been reported for nuclear safety. pic.twitter.com/pZ0VGRZtbf

— IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) August 11, 2024

Ukraine’s interior minister said it was “intensively monitoring” the situation from meteorological stations near the plant, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power station.

All six of its units are currently in cold shutdown, Balitsky said. “There is no threat of a steam explosion or any other consequences,” he said, adding that firefighters were on site battling the blaze.

A video published by Zelensky showed black smoke billowing out of one of the station’s cooling towers as red flames licked around the bottom.

The site is on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river – a de facto frontline snaking through southern Ukraine.

Ukraine controls the opposite bank and Russia has repeatedly accused its forces of deliberately shelling the plant – claims denied by Ukraine.

Kyiv, in turn, has accused Moscow of militarising the facility, including by placing heavy weapons there at the start of the conflict.

Russia’s control over the plant is a form of nuclear “blackmail”, it says.

The IAEA, which has staff stationed there, has repeatedly urged restraint, saying it fears reckless military action could trigger a major nuclear accident at the plant.

AFP