Russia says Ukraine shelled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

An official from Russian nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom said 15 shells were fired at the plant’s facilities. PHOTO: REUTERS

MOSCOW - Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has come under Ukrainian shelling, but there has been no radiation leak detected, TASS reported on Sunday, citing an official from Russian nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom.

Fifteen shells were fired at the plant’s facilities, TASS quoted Rosenergoatom adviser Renat Karchaa as saying.

He said that the shells had been fired near a dry nuclear waste storage facility and a building that houses fresh spent nuclear fuel.

No radioactive emissions have been detected, he added.

Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for shelling at the site that has damaged buildings and threatened a nuclear accident.

The facility, which provided about a fifth of Ukraine’s electricity before Russia’s Feb 24 invasion, has been forced to operate on back-up generators a number of times since it was occupied by Russian forces soon after the war began. REUTERS

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