International Courant
Ukraine and Russia blame one another after a fireplace broke out on the large Zaporizhia nuclear energy plant on Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned Russian troops had set hearth to the plant, which has been occupied by Moscow’s troops for greater than two years. The Kremlin-installed governor of Zaporizhia mentioned Ukrainian shelling prompted the hearth.
The UN nuclear watchdog mentioned “heavy darkish smoke” was coming from the ability however that “no impression” on nuclear security was reported.
The event comes as Ukrainian troops have now superior 30 kilometres into Russia, the deepest and most far-reaching incursion since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
On Sunday, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed governor of Zaporizhia, reported {that a} hearth had damaged out within the energy plant’s cooling towers.
He blamed Ukrainian shelling however known as for “calm” and added that there had been no radiation spike across the plant.
Mr Zelensky additionally mentioned no radiation spike or threat of a nuclear leak had been detected. He accused Russia of intentionally beginning the hearth in an try and “blackmail” Kiev.
Early Monday morning, Vladimir Rogov, one other Kremlin-installed official, reported in a Telegram message that the hearth had been “fully extinguished.”
The nuclear energy plant has been below the management of Russian troops and officers since 2022. The plant has not produced electrical energy for greater than two years, and all six reactors have been in chilly shutdown since April.
In an announcement on X, the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear regulator, mentioned its specialists had noticed “robust darkish smoke” coming from the nuclear plant after “a number of explosions”.
It was reported that the plant had reported a “suspected drone assault” on one of many cooling towers on the location.
“No impression on nuclear security has been reported,” the IAEA mentioned.
In a later assertion, the IAEA mentioned it had requested “rapid entry to the cooling tower to evaluate the harm”.
The hearth takes place simply someday later President Zelensky acknowledged for the primary time that his military is conducting a cross-border offensive in Russia’s western Kursk area.
In his each day video deal with on Saturday, Mr Zelensky mentioned the Ukrainian army was shifting the warfare to “the territory of the aggressor”.
A senior Ukrainian official informed AFP information company that 1000’s of troops took half within the operation, excess of initially reported by Russian border guards.
Kiev launched its shock assault on Tuesday, shortly greater than 30 km forward (30 kilometers) inside Russia — the deepest assault since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia has up to now struggled to cease the Ukrainian advance. Greater than 76,000 individuals have been evacuated from the Kursk area, the place native authorities have declared a state of emergency.
The Russian railway firm has additionally arrange emergency trains from Kursk to Moscow for individuals who need to flee.
Combating appeared to proceed over the weekend, with Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov saying on Sunday morning that folks had been injured in a “treacherous” Ukrainian assault.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin known as the offensive a “main provocation.”
Ukraine, Russia change claims over nuclear energy plant hearth
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