News Desk

The Advocate Post: After a fire erupted at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Sunday, Ukraine and Russia have each accused the other of causing the blaze. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Russian forces, who have occupied the plant for over two years, were responsible for the fire.

Conversely, the Kremlin-appointed governor of Zaporizhzhiaattributed the blaze to Ukrainian shelling. The UN’s nuclear watchdog observed “strong dark smoke” at the facility but reported no impact on nuclear safety.

This incident coincides with Ukrainian troops advancing up to 30 kilometers into Russian territory, marking the most significant incursion since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.

On Sunday, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-appointed governor of Zaporizhzhia, reported a fire at the power plant’s cooling towers. He attributed the blaze to Ukrainian shelling but urged for “calm,” noting no radiation spikes were detected around the facility.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed that there was no radiation increase or risk of a nuclear leak but accused Russia of deliberately starting the fire to “blackmail” Kyiv. By early Monday, Vladimir Rogov, another Kremlin-installed official, announced that the fire had been “completely extinguished” via Telegram.

The plant, under Russian control since 2022, has been offline for over two years with all six reactors in cold shutdown since April. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported observing “strong dark smoke” and “multiple explosions” from the site.

The plant reported

“an alleged drone attack”

on one of its cooling towers. The IAEA noted that there had been “no impact reported for nuclear safety.” Subsequently, the IAEA requested

“immediate access to the cooling tower to assess the damage.”