The Zaporizhzhia power plant supplies an estimated 40% of Ukraine’s nuclear energy.
New Delhi:
A fire broke out at a key nuclear plant in Ukraine on Friday as Russia intensified fighting deep inside its western neighbour. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared: “No country other than Russia has ever opened fire on nuclear power plants” when he accused Moscow of resorting to “nuclear terrorism” and wanted to “repeat” the Chernobyl disaster. .
The attack on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, raised concerns that radiation could leak from the damaged power plant.
“No country other than Russia has ever opened fire on nuclear power plants. This is the first time in our history. In the history of mankind. The terrorist state must now resort to nuclear terrorism. “, Zelensky said in a video.
US President Joe Biden joined Zelenskiy “to urge Russia to cease its military activities in the area and allow access to the site for firefighters and emergency responders,” the White House said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the Russian military to stop the offensive.
“If it explodes, it will be 10 times bigger than Chornobyl! The Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
The station at Zaporizhzhia, an industrial city in southeastern Ukraine, supplies an estimated 40% of the country’s nuclear power.
Ukraine is fighting for its existence a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced an offensive in support of Moscow-backed separatists in the east.
The Russian military has bombarded cities in Ukraine with artillery and rockets, forcing civilians to cower in basements, including at Chernobyl.
After a series of failures, Russian forces captured the Black Sea port of Kherson in southern Ukraine. They also besieged the strategic port city of Mariupol, where there was no water or electricity.
Since Russia launched its military offensive last Thursday, more than a million refugees have fled Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the invasion of Ukraine was “right on schedule” as Russia was destroying “neo-fascism”, and that he would never “give up on his belief that the Russians and Ukrainians is a nation”.
