Shots Trigger Fire And Power Outage At Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, President Zelensky: Russia Puts Ukraine And Europe One Step From Radiation Disaster

PLTN Zaporizhzhia di Ukraina. (Wikimedia Commons/Ralf1969)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the world was on the verge of a radiation catastrophe after power was sent to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) due to hours of Russian fire in the area, with Moscow denying this allegation.

President Zelensky said Russia's shooting on Thursday sparked a fire in the ash pit of a nearby coal-fired power plant that disconnected the reactor complex, Europe's largest facility, from the power grid.

The backup diesel generator ensures the supply of electricity essential for the cooling and safety systems at the plant, he said, praising Ukrainian technicians who operate the plant under the supervision of the Russian military.

"If our station staff does not react after the blackout, then we will be forced to cope with the consequences of the radiation accident", he said in an evening address.

"Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation catastrophe", he criticized.

Separately, Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-appointed official in the occupied city of Enerhodar near the factory, blamed the Ukrainian armed forces for the fire in the forest near the factory.

He said towns in the area lost power for several hours on Thursday.

"This was caused by a power outage from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as a result of provocations by the Zelenskiy fighters", Rogov wrote on Telegram.

"The disconnection itself was triggered by a fire and a short circuit in the power line", he said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom said it was the first total shutdown at the plant, which has become a hotspot in the six-month war.

The United Nations is seeking access to the factory and has called for the area to be demilitarized. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials are "very, very close" to being able to visit Zaporizhzhia, the agency's Director General Rafael Grossi said on Thursday.

Nuclear experts have warned of the risk of damage to spent nuclear fuel pools or their reactors. A cut in the power needed to cool a pool can lead to a devastating meltdown.

Paul Bracken, a national security expert, and professor at the Yale School of Management said the concern was that artillery shells or missiles could penetrate the reactor walls and scatter radiation around a potentially large area, such as in the 1986 accident involving the Chornobyl reactor.

A failure at the Zaporizhzhia plant could "kill hundreds or thousands of people, and damage the environment much more broadly as far as Europe", Bracken said.

It is known that Russia invaded Ukraine in February, seized the plant in March, and has controlled it ever since, although Ukrainian technicians are still operating it.