The fire that broke out on Sunday evening at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been extinguished, according to the Russian-appointed official in the Zaporizhzhia region. Vladimir Rogov stated that "the fire that erupted in the cooling tower of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after an attack by Ukrainian armed forces has been completely extinguished."
Kyiv and Moscow have exchanged blame over the fire at the nuclear plant, which is under Russian control. Ukraine, Russia, and the International Atomic Energy Agency have declared that no increase in nuclear radiation levels or damage to the facility's safety and security has been detected.
Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-appointed governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, posted on Telegram that "as a result of shelling by Ukrainian armed forces on the town of Enerhodar, a fire broke out in the cooling system." The Zaporizhzhia plant is the largest nuclear power facility in Europe and has been under Russian control since March 2022. The plant is located in Enerhodar on the banks of the Dnipro River, which serves as a natural contact line between the warring sides.
On Sunday, the agency that deploys monitors at the plant announced that the fire did not seem to pose a threat to the safety and security of the facility. In a statement on social media platform X, the international agency noted, "IAEA experts observed thick black smoke rising from the northern area of the Zaporizhzhia plant after several explosions were heard in the evening" and were informed by the administration of "suspected drone attacks" on "one of the cooling towers."
