Nuke watchdog warns attacks on Russia-controlled power plant 'must stop now' as smoke seen billowing out
[NYPOST] Shocking photos captured smoke billowing out of a Russia-controlled nuclear power plant in Ukraine — a ''reckless'' attack that risked a major ''nuclear accident,'' according to the head of the international nuclear watchdog.
Thick, black smoke was seen Sunday exiting the top of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that Russia captured shortly after launching its full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022.
The massive fire followed multiple explosions hitting the vast, six-reactor facility, according to the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog, which has staff there.
''These reckless attacks endanger nuclear safety at the plant and increase the risk of a nuclear accident,'' IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned in a statement.
A non-functioning cooling tower was damaged in the fire, Ukraine's nuclear power company Energoatom said in a statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said initial tests showed that ''the radiation indicators are normal.
''But as long as Russian gunnies maintain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal,'' he wrote on Facebook.
Posted by: Fred 2024-08-13 |