Thick black smoke was seen billowing from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine, which has been under Russian control since March 2022.
The ominous sight of smoke pouring from one of the plant’s cooling towers has sparked renewed fears of a nuclear disaster amid Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power facility, has been a critical flashpoint throughout the war. Russia seized control of the plant in a fierce firefight, deploying troops and RPGs to take over the sensitive area.
On Sunday, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-installed regional governor of Zaporizhzhia, claimed that the fire was the result of Ukrainian shelling.
However, Ukrainian officials have strongly refuted this, with one commander accusing Russian forces of deliberately setting the fire by igniting automobile tires inside the cooling towers.
The Kyiv Independent reported that this was likely done to create a smokescreen and escalate the psychological warfare surrounding the plant.
Balitsky attempted to downplay the incident, stating, “Six units in the power plant are in cold shutdown, there is no explosion or other danger.”
Despite these assurances, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is using the nuclear plant as a tool to blackmail the world, exacerbating global fears of a potential catastrophe.
Zelensky reassured the public that “radiation levels are within norm,” but emphasized that the situation remains perilous as long as Russian forces continue to control the nuclear facility.
As long as the Russian terrorists maintain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal,” he stated, reflecting the ongoing anxiety over the plant’s safety.
Ukraine’s energy agency, Energoatom, supported Zelensky’s stance, indicating that the fire likely started at the technical water supply facility, which then caused the cooling tower to catch fire.
The agency further blamed the negligence of Russian forces for the incident, describing them as “racist occupiers” responsible for the ongoing threats to the plant’s safety.
Since the initial seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Russia has been accused of using the facility to blackmail not only Ukraine but the entirety of Europe and beyond.
The latest incident only adds to the growing fears of a potential nuclear disaster in the region.
