Moscow and Kyiv blame each other after fire breaks out at Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

Russia and Ukraine traded accusations after a fire broke out at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP) on Sunday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shared a video of the fire, alleging that the Russian forces occupying the plant were responsible. The Russian authorities, in turn, claimed that the fire was caused by a Ukrainian drone attack.

International Atomic Energy Agency experts at the site reported seeing “thick dark smoke coming from the north-western area of the plant [following] multiple explosions throughout the evening.”

Rafael Grossi, the head of the IAEA, stated that there is currently no risk of increased radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia NPP.

The plant’s Russian-installed management told IAEA representatives that one of the plant’s cooling towers had been attacked by a drone, but that there were no radioactive materials in the area where the fire occurred. Independent measurements taken by the IAEA team also did not detect any increase in radiation levels.

On Monday, Zaporizhzhia NPP’s Russian-appointed management stated that the fire had been extinguished but that the cooling tower had suffered severe internal damage, making the timeline for its restoration unclear.

Russian forces captured the Zaporizhzhia NPP in the early days of Moscow’s February 2022 invasion. An IAEA team was only able to reach the plant in September 2022 to assess the threat posed by ongoing shelling. Following Sunday’s fire, Grossi stressed that “reckless attacks endanger nuclear safety at the plant and increase the risk of a nuclear accident.” Commenting on the blaze, Zelensky accused Russia of using the plant to “blackmail Ukraine, Europe, and the world.”