Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has slammed Russian forces for allegedly igniting a massive blaze at a nuclear power plant in the nation’s south. The incident, which left black smoke billowing from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, was branded a “provocation” from Moscow.
Officials in Ukraine have released horrifying footage showing a towering inferno issuing from a chimney stack at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, situated in a Russian-held area of southeast Ukraine. Videos circulating online show ominous black smoke pouring out of the nuclear site.
Following repeated warnings about the safety of the nuclear plant, and with the Chernobyl disaster burnt into the memory of many Ukrainians, the cause of the black clouds is macabre. Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of Nikopol’s military administration, claimed that Russian troops ignited car tyres in the cooling towers of Zaporizhzhia to simulate the appearance of a potentially catastrophic fire.
Zelensky has accused Russia of using the facility as leverage against Ukraine and exploiting Western anxieties about potential escalation, reports the Express US. “The Russian occupiers started a fire on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” Zelensky posted on Telegram.
“Currently, the radiation indicators are normal. But as long as Russian terrorists retain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal. From the first day of the seizure of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, Russia has been using it purely for blackmailing both Ukraine and the whole of Europe and the world.”
However, Russia has pointed the finger at Ukrainian forces. Yevhen Balytskyi, the Russia-appointed governor of the occupied Zaporizhzhia region, accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the plant and causing the fire, but failed to provide any evidence to support his claim.
Vladimir Rogov, a local official installed by Russia, claimed that the power plant was hit by a “kamikaze drone.” The plant is the largest nuclear facility in Ukraine and the whole of Europe.
This incident comes six days after Ukraine launched an unexpected military incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region. The incursion started on Tuesday, with up to 1,000 troops entering the Kursk region. This marks the largest attack since Moscow initiated its invasion in 2022.
In a speech on Sunday, Zelenskyy admitted for the first time that his forces were conducting the offensive. The evacuation of civilians living in Russia’s border areas with Ukraine continued on Sunday.
