Ukraine Nuclear Plant Sees Fire Erupt After Russian Attack: Should People Be Concerned About Possible Radiation?

Russia seized control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, the largest in Europe, after a fire broke out at the station due to an attack by Moscow's troops.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the fire sparked after Russian soldiers bombarded it with shells.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet that the Russian forces were "firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP," which holds 15 nuclear reactors.

The official noted that if the power plant explodes, it will be much worse than the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

Andriy Tuz, a spokesperson of the nuclear facility, said that there was a high risk of "nuclear danger," so he demanded Russia to stop shooting at the plant, per NBC News.

State Emergency Service of Ukraine said that there were no victims in the incident, and the fire had already been extinguished.

World leaders blasted Russia for putting the safety of an entire continent in grave danger, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia's action "nuclear terror."

United States President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Russia to stop its military aggression, while UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that Russia's action was "reckless" and could "directly threaten the safety" of the whole continent.

Per BBC, Johnson would propose to set an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council over the attack on the power plant by the Russians on Friday.

Without presenting proof, Russia's defense ministry attributed the incident to Ukrainian saboteurs, calling it a "monstrous provocation."

Is Europe Safe from High Levels of Radiation?

According to US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other authorities from Western countries, there was no spike in the levels of radiation in the nuclear facility.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog, also said the blaze had not damaged the plant's critical equipment. But the agency is closely monitoring the "serious situation" at the nuclear power plant.

However, Ukrainian President Zelensky encouraged Europeans to "wake up" and tell their leaders to take action on Russia's shelling at the nuclear facility that endangered the whole continent. He also urged Russians to conduct demonstrations in response to the attack.

President Zelensky claimed Russia wants to repeat the world's worst nuclear disaster that happened in Chernobyl in 1986. He said that there would be an explosion at the facility, "it is the end of everything."

Earlier, Russian forces had captured the Chernobyl plant north of Kyiv, which is no longer operational and had been converted into a tourism site.

The mayor of Energodar, a town approximately 550 kilometers (342 miles) southeast of Kyiv, claimed there had been injuries in the area due to heavy combat and "continuous" shooting by Russian troops. Though, he did not provide further specifics.

Russia Continues Aggression

Al Jazeera reported that Ukraine's capital city Kyiv and other cities, Kharkiv and Mariupol, are still being attacked by the Russian troops, while the Ukrainian government lost control over Kherson.

Since Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the worst attack on a European state since World War Two, tens of thousands of people are estimated to have been dead or injured, and over one million refugees have fled Ukraine.

Tags

Ukraine, Russia, Chernobyl, Nuclear