Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the surrounding area were rocked by “powerful explosions” on Sunday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
The bombing caused damage to buildings and equipment at the facility, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, but no fatalities were reported, according to the plant’s management.
“The news from our team yesterday and this morning is extremely disturbing,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said on Sunday.
“Explosions have occurred at the site of this large nuclear power plant, which is completely unacceptable. Whoever is behind this must stop immediately. As I have said many times before, you are playing with fire!”
A Russian all-terrain armored vehicle is parked outside the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) expert mission.
(REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photos)
Russia and Ukraine have once again exchanged blame for the attacks. Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear operator Energoatom accused Russia of trying to “damage or destroy as much of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as possible” before winter, while Russia accused Ukrainian forces of bombing power lines that supply electricity to the central.
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Russia has occupied the facility since the early days of the war, although it is still run by a Ukrainian staff.
A rescuer from the Ministry of Emergencies of Ukraine participates in a drill in the city of Zaporizhzhia on August 17, 2022, in case of a possible nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant located near the city.
(DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian forces also shelled civilian infrastructure in the Zaporizhzhia region on Sunday, destroying 30 houses, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
In Kherson, about 120 miles southwest of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, an oil depot was hit by two Russian missiles on Saturday, sparking a huge fire. The southern city, recently recaptured by Ukrainian forces, also came under shelling from tanks and other artillery.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks past an asylum building damaged in a Russian missile attack in the village of Novooleksandrivka, Kherson region, Ukraine.
(REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)
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Zelenskyy said there would also be planned power outages in 15 regions and the capital Kyiv on Monday.
“Restoration of networks and technical supply capacity, demining of power transmission lines, repairs – everything goes on around the clock,” Zelenskyy said in his Sunday night speech.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
