A battle at a major nuclear power plant in Ukraine has outraged NATO leaders, with the fire sparked at the facility raising the specter of a nuclear catastrophe that could spread radiation into neighboring European states.
“Russian shelling of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar Ukraine is insane,” Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics wrote on Twitter early Friday morning local time. “Attacks in that area must be stopped immediately and firefighters must be allowed to do their job. International community must step pressure against.”
NATO allies have tried to support the Ukrainian defense while stopping short of direct involvement in the conflict for fear of a war between nuclear-weapon states. The fighting around the largest nuclear power plant in Europe called attention to the potential for a nuclear crisis even without NATO’s intervention, prompting British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to call for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The prime minister said the reckless actions of President Putin could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe,” a British summary of the call between the two leaders reads. “He said the U.K. would do everything it could to ensure the situation did not deteriorate further.”
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Zelensky accused Russia of resorting to “nuclear terror,” as he maintained that Ukrainian forces have tried to avoid any “provocation” at the plant.
“We don’t know for sure what the results of this fire will be,” he said, insisting that a nuclear disaster at that site could dwarf the infamous Chernobyl disaster. “If there is an explosion, it is the end for everyone, end to Europe. It’s the evacuation of entire Europe. Only immediate action can stop the Russian troops. Do not let Europe die in the nuclear catastrophe.”
I’m deeply concerned with situation at #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Spoke with #Ukraine PM Denys Shmygal; @IAEAorg‘s monitoring and in close contact with #Ukraine‘s nuclear regulator and operator. I appeal to parties to refrain from actions that can put NPPs in danger.
— Rafael MarianoGrossi (@rafaelmgrossi) March 4, 2022
Hours after Zelensky issued the statement, Ukrainian officials announced that the fire “was extinguished.” Ukrainian officials also told the International Atomic Energy Agency that the fire “has not affected ‘essential’ equipment,” according to an IAEA update, which added that “plant personnel [are] taking mitigatory actions.” Still, IAEA officials put their Incident and Emergency Centre “in full response mode due to the situation,” the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency announced.
The fighting around the power plant erupted one day after IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi warned that “an accidental hit” on one of Ukraine’s several nuclear power facilities could lead to “a release of radioactive material.”
Grossi expressed confidence Wednesday that the facilities would not come under attack intentionally, but he cautioned that the war is raising the chances of an accident if only because of the complications that it presents to the noncombatants operating the facilities, who have been forced to work longer hours and in poorer conditions due to the difficulty of changing shifts and traveling to and from home in a war zone.
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“In some cases, we know that people have to stay at the plant and then continue work the next day and not take the necessary time off,” Grossi said Wednesday. “In any activity, but in particular here — where you have to be really, very, very focused and not make mistakes — this can lead to mistakes.”
