A fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine’s southeast has been extinguished, after Russian forces fired at it, officials said in the early hours of Friday.
U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said there was no indication of elevated radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which provides more than a fifth of total electricity generated in Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Earlier, a video feed from the plant verified by Reuters showed shelling and smoke rising near a five-storey building at the plant compound.
“Europeans, please wake up. Tell your politicians – Russian troops are shooting at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine,” Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address.
Zelenskiy said Russian tanks had shot at the nuclear reactor plants, though there was no evidence cited that they had been hit.
Early reports of the incident at the power plant sent financial markets in Asia spiralling, with stocks tumbling and oil prices surging further.
U.S. President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson both spoke with Zelenskiy to get an update on the situation at the plant.
“President Biden joined President Zelenskiy in urging Russia to cease its military activities in the area and allow firefighters and emergency responders to access the site,” the White House said.
Johnson said Russian forces must immediately quit their attack and agreed with Zelenskiy that a ceasefire was crucial.
“The prime minister said the reckless actions of President Putin could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe,” Downing Street said.
Energy Secretary Granholm said on Twitter the reactors at Zaporizhzhia were “protected by robust containment structures” and were being „safely shut down”.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said he was “deeply concerned” with the situation at the power plant and was in contact with Ukrainian authorities.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said a temporary halt to fighting in select locations was also possible.
The negotiators will meet again next week, the Belarusian state news agency Belta quoted Podolyak as saying.
Only one Ukrainian city, the southern port of Kherson, has fallen to Russian forces since the invasion was launched on February 24, but Russian forces continue to surround and attack other cities.
While no major assault has been launched on Kyiv, the capital has been shelled, and Russian forces unleashed devastating firepower to break resistance in the outlying town of Borodyanka.