{"id":39198,"date":"2022-03-03T19:01:30","date_gmt":"2022-03-04T03:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=39198"},"modified":"2022-03-04T07:23:15","modified_gmt":"2022-03-04T15:23:15","slug":"fighting-breaks-out-at-ukrainian-nuclear-power-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2022\/03\/03\/fighting-breaks-out-at-ukrainian-nuclear-power-plant\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Breaks Out at Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i>Updated March 4, 2022, 10:00 am EST<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Fighting has erupted on the grounds of Ukraine\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/03\/03\/1084414241\/a-contested-ukrainian-nuclear-plant-is-under-attack-by-russian-forces?utm_source=twitter.com&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=npr&amp;utm_term=nprnews\">Zaporizhzhia <\/a>nuclear power plant \u2013 the largest of its kind in Europe \u2013 with Kiev accusing Russian forces of setting fire to a building on the site with artillery blasts before they seized the facility.<\/p>\n<p>Citing Ukrainian authorities, the UN\u2019s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) issued a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iaea.org\/newscenter\/pressreleases\/update-9-iaea-director-general-statement-on-the-situation-in-ukraine\">press release<\/a> on Thursday noting that Russian tanks and infantry had broken through a line of defense outside the town of Enerhodar, which encompasses the nuclear site, and were advancing on the plant. Earlier this week, Russia <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iaea.org\/newscenter\/pressreleases\/update-6-iaea-director-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine\">informed<\/a> the nuclear watchdog that it had taken control of the area surrounding the facility. <\/p>\n<p>Unverified footage circulating online purported to show the attack in progress, and was relayed by major US media networks including CNBC&#8217;s Shepard Smith. NPR also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2022\/03\/03\/1084414241\/a-contested-ukrainian-nuclear-plant-is-under-attack-by-russian-forces\">cited<\/a> security video from the plant, claiming it showed \u201cwhat appear to be Russian troops\u201d at its gate.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">BREAKING: Europe&#39;s largest nuclear power plant in southern <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Ukraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Ukraine<\/a> is reportedly being shelled by Russian troops right now. Watch ?? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HGklnjOuQL\">pic.twitter.com\/HGklnjOuQL<\/a><\/p>\n<p> &mdash; The News with Shepard Smith (@thenewsoncnbc) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thenewsoncnbc\/status\/1499547718137618435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 4, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DmytroKuleba\/status\/1499543775240196099\">said<\/a> Russia had attacked the power plant \u201cfrom all sides\u201d and called for an immediate end to the fighting, warning that if the nuclear station \u201cblows up,\u201d it would be \u201c10 times larger than Chernobyl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Enerhodar Mayor Dmitry Orlov said in a Telegram post that the plant was \u201con fire\u201d due to \u201ccontinuous enemy shelling,\u201d but provided no other details about the status of the nuclear site, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/NTefh#selection-663.0-667.102\">according<\/a> to Reuters. An unnamed Ukrainian official also reportedly <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/marcorubio\/status\/1499555737533657111\">told<\/a> US Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) that one reactor was \u201chit\u201d and rendered \u201cinactive with fuel inside,\u201d but also declined to elaborate. The official did state that a meltdown was \u201cunlikely,\u201d however.<\/p>\n<p>The Ukrainian State Emergency Service, meanwhile, issued an <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/dsns_telegram\/4239\">update<\/a> confirming that a fire had erupted in a \u201ctraining building outside the [nuclear power plant],\u201d suggesting it posed no threat to its six reactors. However, the service said the facility is experiencing technical issues and that some systems remain disconnected. Ukraine\u2019s energy regulator also told the IAEA that it observed \u201cno change\u201d in radiation levels at the plant, the UN agency <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iaeaorg\/status\/1499562515340177416\">said<\/a> in a tweet, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/iaeaorg\/status\/1499571709774422017\">adding<\/a> that the fire \u201chas not affected \u2018essential\u2019 equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While officials denied any major damage, a spokesman for the power station, Andriy Tuz, claimed that one reactor caught fire during the attack, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/SNuqm#selection-823.0-835.240\">according<\/a> to the Associated Press. He added that the reactor is currently under renovation, but still contains nuclear fuel. At least three of the facility&#8217;s reactors are now offline, per a New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/03\/01\/world\/europe\/ukraine-nuclear-power-plant.html\">report<\/a>, though the reasons for each remain unclear.<\/p>\n<p>Later on Thursday night, the White House <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WhiteHouse\/status\/1499572194204078080\">said<\/a> President Joe Biden held a call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and was updated on the situation at the plant. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SecGranholm\/status\/1499577621163626496\">said<\/a> she was in touch with Kiev\u2019s energy minister, adding that \u201cWe have seen no elevated radiation readings near the facility\u201d and that its reactors \u201care protected by robust containment structures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson also consulted with Zelensky about the incident, Downing Street <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/pm-call-with-president-zelenskyy-of-ukraine-4-march-2022\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>By the early hours of Friday morning, Moscow had <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/6MBlE\">fully captured<\/a> the station, with Energoatom \u2013 the state-owned enterprise that runs Ukraine&#8217;s four major power plants \u2013 confirming that there was \u201cno further fighting, the fire was out, radiation was normal and Russian forces were in control.\u201d Kiev&#8217;s emergency agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MNS.GOV.UA\/posts\/325786002922629\">said<\/a> there were no casualties in the clashes.<\/p>\n<p>The Russian Defense Ministry later offered its own account of the skirmish, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mod.mil.rus\/videos\/790575755665974\/?__tn__=%2CO\">claiming<\/a> the fire was a \u201cmonstrous provocation\u201d by \u201ca Ukrainian sabotage group.\u201d It said its troops were ambushed from within the facility&#8217;s training complex in order \u201cto provoke return fire,\u201d and that the alleged saboteurs set fire to the building as they fled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cZelensky&#8217;s prompt statements about the alleged threat to the nuclear power plant and his talks with Washington and London leave no doubt. The purpose of the provocation of the Kiev regime at a nuclear facility is an attempt to accuse Russia of creating a source of radioactive contamination,&#8221; the ministry continued.<\/p>\n<p>The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has come under assault in the past, long before Russia&#8217;s invasion last week. A gang of Ukrainian ultra-nationalist militants <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/dYax7#selection-607.0-609.2\">attacked<\/a> the station in 2014 to expel \u201cpro-Russian agitators\u201d it claimed were at the site, but were disarmed by security. <\/p>\n<p>As fighting continues for major cities <a href=\"https:\/\/libertarianinstitute.org\/blog\/ukraine-warzone-flooded-with-foreign-weapons-as-fighting-rages-on\/\">from Kiev to Kharkiv<\/a>, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met to discuss a possible ceasefire earlier on Thursday. The talks netted a limited deal, under which humanitarian corridors will be established to allow civilians to flee cities without interference by troops on either side. <\/p>\n<p>A direct <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/vFANa#selection-859.13-863.262\">communication line<\/a> has also been established between the US European Command and the Russian military \u201cfor the purpose of preventing miscalculation, military incidents, and escalation,\u201d an unnamed US official told the AP. It remains to be seen whether the new comms channel or ongoing bilateral talks between Kiev and Moscow will help to bring an end to the conflict, as discussions have reportedly made little progress so far. <\/p>\n<p><i>Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the <a href=\"https:\/\/libertarianinstitute.org\/\">Libertarian Institute<\/a>. Will Porter is the assistant news editor of the Libertarian Institute and a staff writer at RT. Kyle and Will host <a href=\"https:\/\/libertarianinstitute.org\/\">Conflicts of Interest<\/a> along with Connor Freeman. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Updated March 4, 2022, 10:00 am EST Fighting has erupted on the grounds of Ukraine\u2019s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant \u2013 the largest of its kind in Europe \u2013 with Kiev accusing Russian forces of setting fire to a building on the site with artillery blasts before they seized the facility. Citing Ukrainian authorities, the UN\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":532,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-39198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/532"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39198"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39203,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39198\/revisions\/39203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39198"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=39198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}