Ukraine on Friday informed that fire has broken out in a training building near the Europe’s largest nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhya NPP. This occurred during an intense exchange of fire between Ukrainian and Russian military, as per Ukraine's state emergency.
“Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhya NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chernobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone! (sic)," Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.
However, the International Atomic Energy Agency has informed that there have been no signs of radiation leak as the crucial equipment has not been impacted by the fire. The plant personnel have also taken mitigatory steps to ensure the safety of the plant.
Also read| 5 people critical after blast hits US apartment complex
“Ukraine regulator tells IAEA there has been no change reported in radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant site,” IAEA updated in a tweet.
The Zaporizhzhya NPP is among the 10 largest nuclear power plants in the world, and generates one-fifth of the country’s electricity.
The IAEA has also put its Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) in a 24/7 response mode owing to the seriousness of the situation at the nuclear power plant.
The annual net output of the nuclear power plant is 38,000GWh.
Also read| Western countries sending mercenaries to Ukraine: Russia
There have been reports of shelling near the power plant and the international organisations, including the IAEA have been keeping a close tab on the developments.
The construction of the first reactor of the nuclear power plant began in 1980 and all the six reactors were completed between 1985 to 1996.
On 25th February, the Russian forces had taken full control of the Chernobyl power plant after an intense fighting with the Ukrainian forces, as per media reports.
Ukrainian authorities had informed the IAEA yesterday that the Russian forces were moving towards the Zaporizhzhya NPP. The organisation’s Director-General Rafael MarianoGrossi had asked the militarties to avoid fighting in the sensitive areas.
