Russia and Ukraine trade blame over fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of starting a fire on the grounds of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.

Dramatic footage showed smoke billowing from the now Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Sunday.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, which has a presence at the six-reactor facility, said its experts had seen strong, dark smoke coming from the northern area of the plant in southern Ukraine following multiple explosions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of lighting the fire, which he said was visible from the Kyiv-held city of Nikopol, which looks out onto the plant.

He published grainy video showing belching black smoke that appeared to be coming out a cooling tower with a blaze burning at its foot.

“Currently, the radiation indicators are normal. But as long as Russian terrorists retain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal,” he said.

Ukraine’s nuclear power company Energoatom said one of the cooling towers and other equipment were damaged, while Russian state media reported it was a non-functioning tower.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, accused Kyiv of deliberately trying to destroy the plant and sow “nuclear terror.”

Evgeny Balitsky, a Russian-installed official in the occupied south of Ukraine, accused Ukrainian forces of causing the fire by shelling the nearby city of Enerhodar.

Russia’s nuclear energy company Rosatom said the main fire was extinguished shortly before midnight on Sunday, according to state media.

The incident came less than a week after Ukraine’s forces launched their largest incursion into Russian territory since the war began in 2022, a surprise move that has brought conflict into a new phase.

Russia captured the plant from Ukraine shortly after launching its full-scale invasion. The plant’s six nuclear reactors are in cold shutdown.

In a statement posted on X, the IAEA said there had been no reported impact on nuclear safety at the site.

“Team was told by (the nuclear plant) of an alleged drone attack today on one of the cooling towers located at the site,” it said.

Ukraine’s Energoatom said Russia’s “negligence” or arson could have sparked the fire. Without providing evidence, it also said Russia uses the plant’s cooling towers to store military equipment and explosives.

The six reactors at the plant located close to the front line of the war in Ukraine are not in operation but the facility relies on external power to keep its nuclear material cool and prevent a catastrophic accident.

Moscow and Kyiv have routinely accused each other of endangering safety around it.

With agencies