Russia sets fire to Ukraine nuclear plant

 Washington Examiner:

A major Ukrainian nuclear power plant near Kyiv was ablaze, and firefighters were watching helplessly as Russian forces shelled it, sparking fears of a Chernobyl-style catastrophe, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian and U.S. officials issued assurances that no elevated radiation levels had been detected, and Ukraine's State Emergency Service posted to Telegram to say that around 5:20 a.m., roughly 40 firefighters "responded to the fire at the training building of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant." An hour later, the "fire at the Zaporizhzhia NPP training building in Enerhodar was extinguished. There are no dead or injured,” the emergency service said in another statement reported by CNN.

Ukrainian authorities also reported that Russian military forces had occupied the plant.

The Zaporizhzhia plant in the city of Enerhodar, which supplies a quarter of Ukraine's power, is one of the world's largest nuclear facilities, with six reactors.

Earlier, Ukrainian officials raised the alarm about the attack on the nuclear facility located in eastern Ukraine. Firefighters were reportedly unable to fight the blaze because Russian forces were firing artillery at them.

“Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter early Friday morning local time. “Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!”

...

This is apparently an effort to shut off power to Kyiv and other cities.  It looks like a dangerous situation for Ukraine and the Russian troops who are occupying the facility. 

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