Fighting Breaks Out Near Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant, Fire Erupts At Training Station

Fighting Breaks Out Near Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant, Fire Erupts At Training Station

By Anders Hagstrom

President Joe Biden took a late-night call from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday to discuss reported fighting between military forces near a nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s state emergency service said Friday that a fire erupted at a training facility outside a nuclear power plant amid heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, Reuters reported. Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba had claimed on Twitter that the Zaporizhzhia plant could cause a disaster “10 times larger than Chernobyl,” though other reports have suggested the threat is less severe.

Ukrainian officials reportedly said the Zaporizhzhia plant had been secured after the fighting broke out.

The White House confirmed Biden discussed the situation in his call with Zelenskyy. The two leaders urged Russia to stop “military activities” near the plant and allow local firefighters to contain the flames. (RELATED: Former Top Trump Official Argues Biden’s Russia Sanctions Are ‘Half Measures,’ Contain Loopholes)

Fox News reporter Trey Yingst stated the threat of a Chernobyl-style disaster has been overblown, however.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced late Thursday that it was aware of reports of shelling at the plant and is in contact with Ukrainian authorities.

Ukraine officials later told the IAEA that the fire “has not affected ‘essential’ equipment” and that “plant personnel” were “taking mitigatory actions,” according to a tweet.

Ukraine’s nuclear regulator informed IAEA that there is “no change reported in radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant site,” the organization tweeted early Friday.

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