3/4/22 - Nuclear Power Plant Hit In Ukraine

There are conflicting reports following the attack on a nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

(USATODAY/AP) - The fire at Europe's largest nuclear power plant was extinguished Friday after Russian shelling set a building on fire.  

No radiation has been released at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after a Russian "projectile" hit a training center that is "not part of the reactor," said Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the United Nations’ atomic watchdog agency.

The office of Enerhodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov told the Associated Press that Ukrainian firefighters were allowed on the site overnight. The plant's Ukrainian staff remains in control of the reactor, Grossi said, but Ukrainian officials have said Russian troops took control of the overall site. Only one reactor is operating at around 60% capacity, the U.N. said.

Enerhoatom, Ukraine's state nuclear plant operator, said three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and two wounded in the attack, while Grossi said two people were injured in the blaze.

The fire sparked fears of a disaster similar to the 1986 Chernobyl accident, which occurred about 65 miles north of the Ukrainian capital. Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine tweeted, "If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl!" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his call for a no-fly zone, calling the shelling "terror on an unprecedented level."

The attack came as Russia's invasion of Ukraine was into its second week Friday. Russian troops advanced on the nearby strategic city of Zaporizhzhia, located on the Dnieper River. Heavy fighting also occurred around Mariupol, a port city on the Azov Sea.