Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of igniting a fire on the grounds of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia facility in Ukraine, on Sunday. Both sides reported no signs of elevated radiation levels.
The U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a presence at the six-reactor facility, noted that its experts observed thick, dark smoke rising from the northern area of the plant in southern Ukraine following multiple explosions.
“These reckless attacks endanger nuclear safety at the plant and increase the risk of a nuclear accident. They must stop now,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned in a statement, without specifying who was responsible for the attack.
The fire erupted less than a week after Ukrainian forces launched their largest incursion into Russian territory since the war began in 2022, signaling a new phase in the conflict after weeks of Russian gains on the battlefield.
Russian state news agencies, TASS and RIA, cited Rosatom, the country’s nuclear energy company, as saying the main fire was extinguished shortly before midnight on Sunday. RIA, citing Rosatom, claimed that a drone attack caused the fire at the cooling tower, though no evidence was provided.
Ukraine’s nuclear power company, Energoatom, stated on the Telegram messaging app that one of the cooling towers and other equipment had been damaged. Russia’s TASS agency also reported that a cooling tower had been damaged, citing Rosatom’s statement, but described it as a non-functioning tower.
IAEA chief Grossi said the agency had requested “immediate access” to the cooling tower to assess the damage. There was no immediate response from Moscow or Kyiv to his statement.
Russia captured the plant shortly after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which Moscow referred to as a “special operation.” The plant’s six nuclear reactors are currently in cold shutdown.
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By early Monday, the cause of the fire, which began around 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Sunday, remained unclear.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of starting the fire, which he said was visible from the Kyiv-controlled city of Nikopol, located near the Russian-held plant. The IAEA confirmed that there had been no reported impact on nuclear safety at the site.
The Ukrainian nuclear company Energoatom suggested that Russia’s negligence or arson could have caused the fire. Without providing evidence, it also alleged that Russia stores military equipment and explosives in the plant’s cooling towers.
Russian officials, including Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, accused Kyiv of deliberately trying to destroy the plant and spread “nuclear terror.”
Zelenskiy shared a grainy video showing black smoke billowing from a cooling tower, with flames visible at its base. “Currently, the radiation indicators are normal. But as long as Russian terrorists retain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal,” he stated.
While the six reactors at the plant are not operational, the facility relies on external power to keep its nuclear material cool and prevent a catastrophic accident. Moscow and Kyiv have routinely accused each other of compromising safety around the site.
