A reported fire at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) was likely started by the Russian military, Ukrainian officials said on Aug. 11.
Russian forces set fire to "a large number of automobile tires in cooling towers," Yevhen Yevtushenko, the head of the military administration in Nikopol, said on Aug. 11, citing sources across the river in occupied Enerhodar.
"Perhaps this is a provocation or an attempt to create panic in the settlements on the right bank of the former reservoir," he said.
According to Yevtoshenko, radiation levels at the plant are normal.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to hold Russia accountable for the provocation.
"As long as Russian terrorists retain control of the nuclear power plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal," Zelensky said in a Telegram post Aug. 11.
"We are waiting for the world's reaction, waiting for the IAEA's reaction."
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Its position near the front line has led to heightened nuclear safety risks throughout Russia's full-scale war.
Kateryna Hodunova
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