Russian troops on Thursday night bombed Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, in southern Ukraine, on the banks of the Dnieper River, 525 kilometers from Chernobyl.
The information was advanced today by the Ukrainian authorities, saying that the Russian projectiles caused a fire in the building dedicated to training and in a laboratory, which has since been extinguished by firefighters
Ukraine's state nuclear regulator has assured that the six reactors at Zaporizhzhia have not been affected.
The regulator also reported that the nuclear reactors remain intact and that there have been no changes in the radiation 'status', adding that its experts are in contact with the nuclear plant's engineers.
According to the plant operator, the natural radiation at the site is currently 0.1 microsievert per hour, a level below the world average and much lower than that of an airplane flight or an X-ray.
Ukrainian authorities have assured that the damaged property is located outside the plant, where radioactivity levels are within normal limits.
"The systems and elements important for the safety of the nuclear power plant are functioning. No change in radiation status has been recorded at this time," a regulator report said.
The fire, which covered an area of 2,000 square meters, was extinguished at 06:20 local time, after hours of uncertainty.
Zaporizhzhia NPP is under fire! The entire Europe is at risk of a repeat of the nuclear catastrophe. Russians must stop fire! pic.twitter.com/P46YxKZZ0W
- Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 4, 2022
Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Galuschenko denounced that Russian troops used tanks, artillery and rockets against the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, "knowing the catastrophic consequences of their actions."
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe in terms of installed capacity. Its six VVER-1000 reactors have a capacity of 1,000 MW. The first went into operation in December 1984 and the sixth in October 1995.