WNAM REPORT: The fire that broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following Ukrainian shelling of the nearby city of Energodar is burning near the cooling towers, the plant said.
“As a result of Ukrainian shelling, a fire broke out on the riverbank in the area of the ZNPP’s cooling towers. Emergency Situations Ministry employees are working at the scene of the fire. The blaze is being extinguished. The fire did not affect the plant’s operation in any way,” TASS reported, citing the plant on its Telegram Channel.
Earlier, Zaporizhzhia Region Governor Yevgeny Balitsky said the ZNPP’s cooling systems caught fire following a Ukrainian strike.
According to the official, all six reactors at the plant are in cold shutdown, there is no danger of an explosion.
He said the radiation background around the plant and the city of Energodar remained normal.
“Two direct strikes by Ukrainian military drones were delivered on August 11 at 8:00 p.m. [17:00 GMT] and 8:32 p.m. [17:32 GMT] on one of the two cooling towers of the Zaporizhzhia NPP causing a fire inside the facility,” Russian nuclear corporation Rosatom said in a statement.
“However, the interior of the cooling tower sustained severe damage. The threat of the possible collapse of the structure will be assessed by specialists when the situation allows it,” the agency added.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, located in the city of Energodar, has a capacity of about 6 GW and is Europe’s largest. It has been controlled by Russian troops since late February 2022.
Since then, Ukrainian army units have periodically shelled both residential areas in Energodar and the premises of the ZNPP itself, using drones, heavy artillery, and multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).
