Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russia has started a fire on the grounds of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest such facility in Europe.
It comes as the war between the two countries enters a new phase, with Ukraine occupying Russian territory for the first time last week as part of its retaliation against Russia’s full-scale invasion, which is now in its third year.
Russia captured the plant, which is in Ukrainian territory, shortly after invading Ukraine in 2022. Its six nuclear reactors are in cold shutdown and no nuclear activity was recorded on Sunday, but the overall risk of nuclear meltdown remains elevated.
“Currently, radiation levels are within norm,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X that included a video. “As long as the Russian terrorists maintain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal.”
