- The governor of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region says Grad missiles and artillery hit the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets.
- They are across the Dnieper River from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
- There are fears that fighting could trigger a radiation leak or an even bigger catastrophe.
Officials reported on Saturday that Russian forces fired artillery and missiles on Ukrainian-held territory across the river from Europe’s largest nuclear power plant amid concerns that combat near the complex may lead to a radioactive leak or even worse calamity.
Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, said in a Telegram post that Grad missiles and artillery shells had hit the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, both of which are across the Dnieper River, about 6 miles from the facility. This came as concerns about safety at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant persisted.
“Nearly 5,000 families were left without energy” when power lines in Nikopol were broken, Reznichenko said, adding that homes and an educational facility had also been impacted.
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In the meantime, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on its Telegram channel on Saturday that Ukrainian artillery units had shelled the vicinity of the plant three times in the previous day. According to the article, Ukrainian military attacked the roof of a structure housing nuclear fuel.
There are concerns that the battle could result in a tragedy because each side has accused the other of shelling the complex in southeast Ukraine repeatedly.
In a late-night video speech, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy cautioned that the situation surrounding the facility was still “extremely perilous and dangerous.”
For the first time in the facility’s 40-year history, it was briefly removed from the national power grid on Thursday, escalating worries of a nuclear catastrophe in a nation still troubled by the Chernobyl accident of 1986.
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