Zelensky warns of fire at Russian-occupied nuclear power plant, radiation levels ‘within norm’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that the Russian military had started a fire on the grounds of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), warning of potential damage but assuring that radiation levels in the area remain normal.

“We have recorded from Nikopol that the Russian occupiers have started a fire on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,” he wrote on the social platform X. “Currently, radiation levels are within norm. However, as long as the Russian terrorists maintain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal.”

The Russian military has occupied the plant since early March 2022, weeks after the initial Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly warned that Russia could hamper civilian access to power by shutting off the plant, or worse: cause a nuclear meltdown event.

Both Russia and Ukraine have accused the other side of planning to sabotage the plant, raising fears about nuclear safety.

“Since the first day of its seizure, Russia has been using the Zaporizhzhia NPP only to blackmail Ukraine, all of Europe, and the world,” Zelensky continued. “We are waiting for the world to react, waiting for the [International Atomic Energy Agency] to react. Russia must be held accountable for this. Only Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhzhia NPP can guarantee a return to normalcy and complete safety.”

Video included with Zelensky’s message shows what appears to be a large fire at the base of one of the plant’s two massive cooling towers, with black smoke billowing from the tower.

Fighting around the plant in 2022 sparked international alarm and eventually led International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to station permanently at the plant that fall. Fears revived in June 2023 as Ukraine said Russian forces were withdrawing from the site and accused Moscow of preparing to blow up the nuclear plant from the inside.

A 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive in the region made little progress toward liberating the plant, and front-line movement in the area has mostly halted since.

The Ukrainian military launched a daring offensive into Russia itself last week, taking land near Kursk, marking the first time Russian land has been occupied in the war and sending Russian command scrambling.