Russia starts fire at Zaporizhzhia NPP: Current situation at station and nearby
Photo: Russians set a fire on the territory of ZNPP (Getty Images)
On the evening of August 11, Russian occupants set a fire in one of the cooling towers of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which frightened residents of the Dnipro region. However, the radiation background is currently normal and there is no threat to ZNPP.
RBC-Ukraine reports about the situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
Russia starts fire at Zaporizhzhia NPP
In the evening, residents of Nikopol noticed a fire on the territory of the ZNPP, which is located on the other side of the former Kakhovka reservoir. After that, the head of the Nikopol district military administration, Yevhen Yevtushenko, said that, according to preliminary data, the Russians had set fire to a large number of tires in one of the cooling towers of the plant. He suggests that this was done as a provocation or to scare Ukrainians.
The fact that this is a deliberate Russian provocation is confirmed by the statements of the Russian occupiers themselves. For example, Russian media outlets published a statement by collaborator Yevhen Balitsky, who accused Ukrainian troops of allegedly shelling the territory of the ZNPP, which allegedly caused the fire.
Situation at and around plant
According to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, as of 10:30 p.m., the radiation background in the area of ZNPP has not changed and is normal. But, according to him, the situation near the nuclear power plant is being closely monitored.
"The posts of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center located near the plant are working in an operational mode to ensure timely monitoring of the radiation background," he says.
At the same time, the head of the Nikopol Regional State Administration said that ZNPP was operating as normally as possible under the Russian occupation, while the head of the Dnipro Regional State Administration, Serhii Lysak, called on residents of the region to remain calm and not succumb to Russian intimidation.
ZNPP cooling towers are facilities for cooling water with atmospheric air. They are located in the cooling basin, at a considerable distance from the nuclear power plant's power units.
How fire was responded to in Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the Russian provocation. He emphasized that the situation at ZNPP cannot be normal as long as it is controlled by the Russian occupation forces and called on the world to respond.
"We are waiting for the world's reaction, waiting for the IAEA's reaction. Russia must be held accountable for this. Only Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhzhia NPP can guarantee a return to normalcy and full security," the President says.
IAEA statement
The IAEA mission wrote on its X account that observers at ZNPP heard explosions and then saw heavy smoke in the northern part of the plant. The observers did not investigate the cause of the fire and explosions themselves, but the IAEA cited a statement by Russians at the station that it was allegedly the result of a drone attack.
Zaporizhzhia NPP has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. An IAEA observer mission is currently on site.
Sources: Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of the Nikopol Regional State Administration, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, head of the Dnipro Regional State Administration Serhii Lysak, the IAEA, and Russian media.
