A fire broke out in the cooling tower of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP). Smoke was detected there.
This was reported by the head of the Nikopol district military administration Yevhen Yevtushenko.
Євген Євтушенко. Нікопольська РВА. Офіційний / Telegram
According to his sources, the Russians set fire to many car tires in the cooling tower. According to Yevtushenko, this could be a provocation or an attempt to create panic in the settlements on the right bank of the former reservoir.
The power plant itself is operating normally, and the radiation level is normal.
The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the incident and published a video of the fire. He stated that the Russian military had set arson on the territory of the ZNPP and confirmed that radiation levels were normal and the power plant was operating normally.
However, according to him, "as long as Russian terrorists retain control over the ZNPP, the situation is not and cannot be normal."
"Since the first day of the seizure of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, Russia has been using it purely for blackmailing Ukraine, the whole of Europe and the world. We are waiting for the reaction of the world, we are waiting for the reaction of the IAEA. Russia should be responsible for this. Only Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhzhia station can guarantee a return to normality and complete security," Zelensky said.
- A cooling tower is a structure in the form of a tower for cooling water with atmospheric air. A fire in a cooling tower does not mean that there is a fire at the power plant itself, since it is located more than four kilometers from the ZNPP.