Essential equipment at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been unaffected from an earlier fire, with no change in radiation levels, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said, citing Ukraine’s regulatory authorities.
“The Ukraine regulatory authority said a fire at the site had not affected ‘essential’ equipment and plant personnel were taking mitigatory actions,” it said. “There was no reported change in radiation levels at the plant, it said.”
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm earlier provided more reassurance surrounding the reactors at the power station, confirming she had spoken with Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Galushchenko.
In an update posted to Twitter, Granholm said:
We have seen no elevated radiation readings near the facility.
The plant’s reactors are protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down.”
According to a statement, the IAEE said Ukraine had informed the agency before the fire broke out that a large number of Russian tanks and infantry “broke through the block-post” to the town of Enerhodar, a few kilometres from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP).
Secretary Jennifer Granholm (@SecGranholm)
I just spoke with Ukraine’s energy minister about the situation at the Zaphorizhizia nuclear plant. Russian military operations near the plant are reckless and must cease. 1/
IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg)
#Ukraine tells IAEA that fire at site of #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has not affected “essential” equipment, plant personnel taking mitigatory actions.
British prime minister Boris Johnson has spoken with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy after news broke about a fire at the nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia, calling Putin’s “reckless actions” a danger to the safety of Europe.
A Downing Street spokeswoman called the situation “gravely concerning”. PA Media reports the spokeswoman said:
Both leaders agreed that Russia must immediately cease its attack on the power station and allow unfettered access for emergency services to the plant.
The Prime Minister said the reckless actions of President Putin could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe.
He said the UK would do everything it could to ensure the situation did not deteriorate further.
The Prime Minister said he would be seeking an emergency UN Security Council meeting in the coming hours, and that the UK would raise this issue immediately with Russia and close partners. Both leaders agreed a ceasefire was crucial.”
Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson)
I’ve just spoken to President @ZelenskyyUa about the gravely concerning situation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.
Russia must immediately cease its attack on the power station and allow unfettered access for emergency services to the plant.
A charter aircraft carrying Russian foreign nationals was held at the Yellowknife airport in Canada’s Northwest Territories, transport minister Omar Alghabra said in a tweet on Thursday.
“We will continue to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine,” Alghabra added.
It remains unclear whether the passengers were transported to their onwards destination.
According to the New York Times, two Russian nationals flying in a private jet that had taken off from Geneva landed in northern Canada this week and were prevented from travelling farther, citing Canadian officials.
Canada announced on Sunday that it would ban Russian aircraft from entering Canadian airspace in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The United States and the European Union have similar policies in place.
Omar Alghabra (@OmarAlghabra)
A charter aircraft that carried Russian foreign nationals has been held at the Yellowknife airport. We will continue to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy early this morning made appeal to Europe for help following the attack on Ukraine’s nuclear plant.
Europe must wake up now. The largest nuclear station in Europe is on fire. Right now Russian tanks are shelling nuclear units. Those are the tanks that have thermal vision, so they know where they are shelling. They prepared for it.
I address all Ukrainians and all Europeans to all people who know the word Chernobyl who know how much suffering and victims were caused by the explosion at the nuclear station. It was a global disaster. Hundreds of thousands of people fought against its consequences. Tens of thousands of people were evacuated.
Russia wants to repeat it but six times harder.
Europeans, please, wake up. Tell your politicians, Russian troops are shelling [the] Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, the city of Enerhodar. There are 6 energy unit. Six. One unit exploded in Chernobyl.
We warn everyone that not a single nation ever shelled nuclear power stations. For the first time in the history of humankind, the terrorist state commits nuclear terrorism.
Russian propagandists threatened to cover the world with nuclear ashes. Now it’s not a threat. It’s a reality. We don’t know how the fire at the station will end, when an explosion will happen, god willing, it won’t happen. Our guys always kept the station safe, so there were no provocations, so that nobody could seize the station, so that nobody could plant mines at the station then blackmail the whole world with a nuclear disaster.
We must stop Russian troops. Tell your politicians: Ukraine is 15 nuclear units. If there will be an explosion, it will the end to all of us, the end of Europe, the evacuation of Europe. Only immediate action of Europe can stop Russian troops and prevent the death of Europe from the disaster at a nuclear station.”
Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa)
Терміново! pic.twitter.com/MuXfniddVT
Guardian reporters Calla Wahlquist and Donna Lu have compiled an explainer on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with all the details you need to know.
You can read their full report below.
Guardian reporter, Luke Harding, is currently in Lviv, western Ukraine where he says demoralised Russian soldiers tell of their anger at being “duped” into war.
Eight days after Vladimir Putin’s invasion it is clear that a significant number of his servicemen are demoralised and reluctant to fight. Some have given themselves up.
Others have abandoned their vehicles and have set off back towards the Russian border on foot, lugging their weapons and kitbags, videos suggest. These episodes do not mean that the Kremlin will fail in its attempts to conquer Ukraine, as its tactics shift to brutal shelling of civilians.
But low morale among invading troops might be one reason why Russia’s blitzkrieg plan to overwhelm Ukraine appears not to have progressed at the speed Putin would have wanted. The assumption in Moscow was that the operation would be swift and successful. Soldiers were given food and fuel supplies for only two or three days, the videos suggest.
The Kremlin also appears to have had a totally fantastical idea of the reception they would get. Several prisoners of war said they had been assured Ukrainians would welcome them as liberators. Russian forces were expecting flowers and cheers, not bullets and bombs, they said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy earlier accused Russia of nuclear terrorism after a fire burned for several hours at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant early Friday morning.
The shelling of the nuclear plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, prompted widespread concern about the safety of Ukraine’s atomic infrastructure.
“We are warning everybody – not a single state apart from Russia has ever shelled nuclear reactors,” Zelenskiy said. “It is the first time in our history, in the history of humankind, that the terrorist state turned to nuclear terrorism.”
Watch the video of Zelenskiy’s remarks below.
Ukrainian emergency services confirmed just a short while ago that a fire which had broken out in the training building of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant was extinguished after a blaze burned for at least four hours throughout early Friday morning.
Ukrainian authorities said the fire was ignited by shelling from Russian forces, claiming Russian troops had prevented emergency teams from attending to the blaze.
At 6.20am local time, Ukraine’s State Emergency Services issued an update published to their social media channels:
At 06:20 the fire in the training building of Zaporizhzhya NPP in Energodar was extinguished.”
According to the agency, no casualties have so far been reported.
Fighting at the plant also reportedly stopped, according to the mayor of Enerhodar, a town located south-east of the plant.
It is 7.20am in Ukraine as Russia’s war enters its ninth day. Here is where the crisis currently stands:
- A fire broke out in a training building outside a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Friday, after shelling by Russian forces, Ukrainian authorities said.
- After burning for at least four hours amid reports Russian troops had prevented emergency teams from attending to the blaze, Ukrainian emergency services confirmed the blaze was extinguished at 6.20am local time. Fighting at the plant has also reportedly stopped, according to the mayor of Enerhodar, a town located south-east of the plant.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) earlier said it had put its Incident and Emergency Centre in “full 24/7 response mode” due to the “serious situation” unfolding at Zaporizhzhia.
- However, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm provided reassurance surrounding the Zaporizhzhia power plant reactors, saying there was no elevated radiation readings near the facility and the plant’s reactors are “protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down.”
- Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy made another appeal to Europe for help following the attack on the nuclear plant. He said: We warn everyone that not a single nation ever shelled nuclear power stations. For the first time in the history of humankind, the terrorist state commits nuclear terrorism.”
- British prime minister Boris Johnson called Russian president Vladimir Putin’s “reckless actions” a danger to the safety of Europe.
- Russian forces continue to control both local and regional government buildings in the strategically important Black Sea port of Kherson, local authorities said. Russian forces appeared to be moving to cut Ukraine off from the sea via its key southern ports, claiming the capture of Kherson and tightening the siege of Mariupol.
- Concern is mounting over the movements of a huge column of Russian military vehicles outside Kyiv. While a US defence official suggested it appeared to have “stalled”, there was also speculation that an estimated 15,000 troops attached to it may be regrouping and waiting for logistical supplies before an assault on Kyiv.
- In a televised speech, Putin claimed Russian military operations in Ukraine were going according to plan. The president went on to accuse Ukrainian forces of using civilians as “human shields” while providing no evidence.
- Vladimir Putin earlier told Emmanuel Macron that Kyiv’s “refusal to accept Russia’s conditions” means he will continue to pursue his war in Ukraine, France’s presidential Élysée Palace has said, adding: “We expect the worst is yet to come.”
For any tips and feedback please contact me through Twitter or at samantha.lock@theguardian.com
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