Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Fire: What We Know So Far

A massive fire was reported at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) on Sunday, with Russia and Ukraine accusing each other of starting the blaze.

The nuclear plant—Europe's largest—has been under Russian control since early March 2022, just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began. It was one of the first sites to be seized by Russian forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that the fire was started by Russian forces, while the Kremlin-installed governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Yevhen Balitsky, accused Ukraine of being behind the blaze.

Footage shared by Zelensky on his social media channels showed a thick column of black smoke rising from the facility.

"We have recorded from Nikopol that the Russian occupiers have started a fire on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," he wrote.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement late on Sunday that "strong dark smoke" had been observed "coming from ZNPP's northern area following multiple explosions heard in the evening."

"Team was told by ZNPP of an alleged drone attack today on one of the cooling towers located at the site," the agency said on X, formerly Twitter. "No impact has been reported for nuclear safety."

Russia's atomic energy agency Rosatom said the fire had been extinguished by 11:30 p.m. local time.

Ukraine launched an armored assault on August 6 that took Russia by surprise and resulted in Kyiv's forces swiftly seizing control of hundreds of square kilometers of Russian territory.

Russia has declared a federal emergency in Kursk, some 250 miles north of Russian-occupied Zaporizhia, and has been forced to scramble to deploy additional resources to the region, diverting manpower away from the war it started in Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry on Friday published videos of Russian military equipment being moved toward Kursk's Sudzhansky district, which is reported to now be partially occupied by Ukraine.

The fire at the nuclear power plant comes after some Russian military bloggers, including Russian war correspondent Alexander Sladkov, speculated that Ukrainian forces are planning to take control of Russia's nuclear power plant in Kurchatov, Kursk.

There is no evidence to suggest that Ukraine intends to capture the nuclear power plant.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

The ZNPP's six reactors have been in shutdown mode since September 2022. Its one remaining power line is supplying the electricity needed to prevent a reactor meltdown.

When the ZNPP was seized by Russian forces in March 2022, there was widespread concern about a potential nuclear catastrophe at the plant as Ukrainian and Russian forces clashed in the region. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other's forces of attacking the plant.

Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian regions that Putin proclaimed to have annexed in the fall of 2022, following referendums that were deemed illegal under international law and condemned by the United Nations.

"Currently, radiation levels are within norm. However, as long as the Russian terrorists maintain control over the nuclear plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal," Zelensky said Sunday. "Since the first day of its seizure, Russia has been using the Zaporizhzhia NPP only to blackmail Ukraine, all of Europe, and the world."

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