Building outside Nuclear Power Plant in Eastern Ukraine Catches Fire in Attack; No Damage to Reactors: Reports

A fire broke out in a building outside of a nuclear power facility in eastern Ukraine on Friday morning local time amid fighting between Ukrainian and Russian military forces, the Ukraine state emergency services said in a statement.

The building that caught fire was a training facility outside the perimeter of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant complex, according to the statement, which was reported by Reuters. The station is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and supplies about 25 percent of Ukraine’s electricity, according to the Associated Press.

A Ukrainian official said there was no damage to the nuclear reactors themselves, in comments to the AP.

The International Atomic Energy posted on Twitter that Ukraine’s regulator said there is no change in radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Additionally, Ukraine told the IAEA that there was no damage to “essential” equipment.

Earlier in the day, Dmytro Orlov, the mayor of the town of Energodar near the Zaporizhzhia plant, accused Russian forces of shelling the facility.

“As a result of relentless shelling by the enemy of the buildings and blocks of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire!!!” Orlov wrote on Facebook in a post cited by CNN.

“We demand that they stop the heavy-weapons fire,” Orlov said in a video posted on Telegram and cited by the AP. “There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic-energy station in Europe.”

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm posted on Twitter that as result of the incident, the U.S. Department of Energy “has activated its Nuclear Incident Response Team” to monitor the situation.

“We have seen no elevated radiation readings near the facility,” Granholm said. “The plant’s reactors are protected by robust containment structures and reactors are being safely shut down.”

President Biden and Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone on Thursday regarding the incident, the White House said in a statement.

“President Biden joined President Zelenskyy in urging Russia to cease its military activities in the area and allow firefighters and emergency responders to access the site,” the White House said.

Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, earlier posted messages on Twitter about the alleged attack.

“Russian soldiers have breached the main building of the Zaporizhzhia nuke plant in Ukraine,” Rubio posted in one tweet. “Active firefight is going on inside a facility that is already on fire and controls 6 reactors. Firefighters unable to fight the fire because they are in the middle of a combat zone.”

However, Rubio also cautioned that “an accurate assessment” of the “danger of a leak, if any, will not be available for hours.”

Earlier on Thursday, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency expressed concerns about the threat of fighting around the Zaporizhzhia power plant.

Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi “appealed for an immediate halt to the use of force at Enerhodar and called on the military forces operating there to refrain from violence near the nuclear power plant,” according to an IAEA statement.

Editor’s note 10:12 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information and comments regarding the incident at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.