Yesterday, Ukraine and Russia traded fresh accusations of shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as its operator warned of a radioactive leak risk at the atomic facility.
The Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine has been occupied by Russian troops since early March.
Kyiv and Moscow have repeatedly accused each other of rocket attacks in the vicinity of the plant — Europe’s largest — located in the city of Energodar.
On Saturday its Ukraine operator Energoatom said Russian troops “repeatedly shelled” it over the past day.
Russia’s defence ministry issued a counter-claim that Ukraine’s troops were responsible for a salvo of 17 shells landing on the site.
“As a result of periodic shelling, the infrastructure of the station has been damaged, there are risks of hydrogen leakage and sputtering of radioactive substances, and the fire hazard is high,” Energoatom said on Telegram.
The agency said that as of midday Saturday (0900 GMT) the plant “operates with the risk of violating radiation and fire safety standards”.
Russia’s defence ministry said Ukrainian forces “shelled the territory of the station three times” from the town of Marganets across the Dnipro River.
In a communique the ministry accused Kyiv of “nuclear terrorism” and said shells landed near areas storing fresh nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.
Radiation levels at the plant “remain normal” the ministry said.
On Tuesday residents in Khortytskyi district — 45 kilometres (29 miles) north-east from the power plant — were given iodine pills to reduce radiation risk in case of a leak.
Residents closer to the plant told AFP earlier this month that they received iodine pills at the very start of the war.
On Thursday, the Zaporizhzhia plant was cut off from Ukraine’s national power grid for the first time in its four-decade history due to “actions of the invaders”, Energoatom said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the power cut was caused by Russian shelling of the last active power line linking the plant to the network.