"Fire Erupts at Power Plant Following Ukraine's Attack, Raising Fears of Nuclear Terrorism

According to SAEDNEWS, Yevgeny Balitsky, the governor of Zaporizhzhia, reported on Sunday that Ukrainian shelling had ignited a fire at the cooling towers of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP).

In the early hours of Monday, Russian official Vladimir Rogov stated that the fire had been "completely extinguished."

The Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom condemned the incident, labeling the attack as “an act of nuclear terrorism on behalf of the Ukrainian authorities."

Rosatom further emphasized, "For a long time the Ukrainian regime has been systematically attempting to carry out attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the city of Energodar," in a statement released on Monday.

The severity of the situation has been underscored by past events; the power plant faced a drone attack in April that resulted in injuries to three individuals, and in June, Ukrainian forces targeted “an environmental radiological monitoring station of the ZNPP in the settlement of Velikaya Znamenka.”

In a counter-accusation, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that it was Russian forces who ignited the blaze on Sunday.

The UN's nuclear agency reported that its experts observed "strong dark smoke" rising from the facility after "multiple explosions," though it stated that "no impact has been reported for nuclear safety." Nevertheless, the agency requested "immediate access to the cooling tower to assess the damage."

Since late February 2022, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, the largest in Europe, has been under the control of Russian troops. Since then, Ukraine has targeted the power plant with drones, heavy artillery, and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).

The ZNPP has not generated power for more than two years, with all six reactors in cold shutdown since April.

The backdrop to this ongoing conflict includes Russia's military operation in Ukraine initiated in February 2022, which aimed partly to counter NATO’s eastward expansion, as Moscow asserted the alliance was adopting an “aggressive line” against it.

Western nations are accused of exacerbating the conflict through their unrestrained supply of weapons to Ukraine. Moscow has consistently warned that this flow of arms to Kiev will only serve to prolong the hostilities.