Russian troops battle for control of Ukrainian city, home to biggest nuclear power plant in Europe, in bid to cut off the country from sea, as Kiev calls on citizens to resist the invasion running on its ninth day.
Friday, March 4, 2022
Russian troops capture Europe's largest nuclear plant - Kiev
Following night-long clashes near the city of Zaporizhzhya in southeastern Ukraine, Russia has taken control of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Ukrainian authorities announced.
"Currently, the site of the Zaporizhzhia NPP is occupied by the military forces of the Russian Federation," said a statement by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate.
It stressed that there had been no changes in radiation level, which increased after a fire broke out due to Russian shelling.
Around 624,500 people entered Poland from Ukraine
Around 624,500 people have crossed into Poland from Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on February 24, the Polish border guard said.
It said that on Thursday around 99,200 people entered, and that on Friday about 25,200 people had crossed as of 0600 GMT.
Over 120,000 people fleeing Ukraine cross into Hungary
Over 120,000 people fleeing Ukraine have taken shelter in Hungary since the war began last week between Kiev and Moscow, according to a senior government official.
Gergely Gulyas, the chief of staff to Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said that the Hungary-Ukraine border gates were open and that crossings continued.
Stating that the number of Ukrainians who have arrived in the country since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war has surpassed 120,000, Gulyas said Budapest does not want to be involved in the war and would not allow weapons to pass through the border to Ukraine.
He said the government was doing everything in its power to ensure the safety of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.
Fire at Ukraine nuclear plant 'extinguished', Kiev blames Russia
The fire at Europe's largest nuclear power plant has been extinguished, Ukrainian emergency services said, after Kiev blamed Russian military shelling for the blaze.
Ukraine's emergency services said it was able to put out the fire after the Russian military eventually allowed rescuers to access the site.
"At 06:20 (04:20 GMT) the fire in the training building of Zaporizhzhia NPP in Energodar was extinguished.
There are no victims," the emergency services said in a statement on Facebook.
Zelenskyy had earlier begged world leaders to wake up and prevent Europe from "dying from a nuclear disaster" after Russian forces attacked the continent's largest plant.
Zelenskyy accuses Russia of 'nuclear terror' after plant fire
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Moscow of resorting to "nuclear terror" and wanting to "repeat" the Chernobyl disaster after he said Russian forces shot at a nuclear power plant.
"No country other than Russia has ever fired on nuclear power units. This is the first time in our history. In the history of mankind. The terrorist state now resorted to nuclear terror," he said in a video message.
Russia restricts access to BBC Russian service and Radio Liberty
Russia's communications watchdog has restricted access to BBC Russian service as well as Radio Liberty and the Meduza media outlet, the RIA news agency reported on Friday.
Russia's foreign ministry said on Thursday that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was being used to undermine the internal political situation and security in Russia.
Ukraine authorities: Situation at nuclear power plant 'secured'
Ukrainian authorities have said the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was now secured after a fire broke out when the station came under fire from invading Russian forces.
"The director of the plant said that nuclear safety is now guaranteed. According to those responsible for the plant, a training building and a laboratory were affected by the fire," Oleksandr Starukh, head of the military administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, said on Facebook.
The fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Ukraine, the largest of its kind in Europe, broke out in a training building outside the plant's perimeter, the state emergency service said in a statement.
Separately, the plant's director told Ukraine 24 television that radiation security had been secured at the site.
The UN's atomic watchdog warned of "severe danger" if the reactors were hit.
"IAEA Director-General @RafaelMGrossi speaks with #Ukraine PM Denys Shmygal and with Ukrainian nuclear regulator and operator about serious situation at #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, appeals for halt of use of force and warns of severe danger if reactors hit," the International Atomic Energy Agency tweeted.
Russian troops have started shelling Europe's largest nuclear power station in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, according to Ukrainian officials.
— TRT World (@trtworld) March 4, 2022
The Ukrainian Foreign Minister says, "If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chernobyl” pic.twitter.com/nCrRhYV3BZ
Ukraine official: Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on fire
Russian troops are shelling Europe's largest nuclear power station in Ukraine, the spokesperson of the Zaporizhzhia plant has said.
"We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire," Andriy Tuz, spokesperson for the plant in Enerhodar, said in a video posted on Telegram on Friday. "There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Russian troops to stop attacking the power plant.
"If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire," Kuleba tweeted referring to the 1986 accident in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant when the country was part of the Soviet Union, considered the worst nuclear disaster in history.
The fighting at Enerhodar, a city on the Dnieper River that accounts for one-quarter of the country's power generation, came as another round of talks between the two sides yielded a tentative agreement to set up safe corridors inside Ukraine to evacuate citizens and deliver humanitarian aid.
The mayor of Enerhodar said Ukrainian forces were battling Russian troops on the city's outskirts and said the plant was on fire.
A government official told The Associated Press that elevated levels of radiation were detected near the site of the plant, which provides about 25 percent of Ukraine's power generation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been publicly released.
A video showed flames and black smoke rising above the city of more than 50,000, with people streaming past wrecked cars, just a day after the UN atomic watchdog agency expressed grave concern that the fighting could cause accidental damage to Ukraine's 15 nuclear reactors.
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(With input from news agency language)
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