Russia-Ukraine war LIVE updates: Fire break’s out at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant after Russian shelling

The remains of a Russian missile lies on the ground in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 3, 2022. Russia has launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes or shelling. AP

Russia-Ukraine war LATEST updates:  The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Twitter that it’s been informed by Ukraine’s nuclear regulator that “there has been no change reported in radiation levels” at a nuclear power station shelled by Russian troops.

Russian forces pressed their attack on a crucial energy-producing city by shelling Europe’s largest nuclear plant early Friday, sparking a fire and raising fears that radiation could leak from the damaged power station.

Plant spokesman Andriy Tuz told Ukrainian television that shells were falling directly on the Zaporizhzhia plant in the city of Enerhodar and had set fire to one of the facility’s six reactors. That reactor is under renovation and not operating, but there is nuclear fuel inside, he said.

A government official told The Associated Press that elevated levels of radiation were detected near the plant, which provides about 25% of Ukraine’s power generation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been publicly released.

Tuz said firefighters cannot get near the flames because they are being shot at. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted a plea to the Russians to stop the assault and allow fire teams inside.

“We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire,” Tuz said in a video statement. “There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe.”

The attack renewed fears that the invasion could result in damage to one of Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors and trigger another emergency like the 1986 Chernobyl accident, the world’s worst nuclear disaster, which happened about 110 kilometers (65 miles) north of the capital.

At least 22 people were killed on Thursday in the wake of Russian air strikes in Ukraine’s Chernihiv region, the Ukrainian emergency services said in an online post.

It said rescue work was ongoing, without specifying where exactly the attack took place. Earlier the regional governor said at least nine people had been killed by an air strike on two schools and private houses.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the West on Thursday to increase military aid to Ukraine, saying Russia would advance on the rest of Europe otherwise.
“If you do not have the power to close the skies, then give me planes!” Zelensky told a press conference. “If we are no more then, God forbid, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia will be next,” he said, adding: “Believe me.”

He called for direct talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying it was “the only way to stop this war.”

“We are not attacking Russia and we do not plan to attack it. What do you want from us? Leave our land,” he said, addressing Putin.

“Sit down with me. Just not 30 metres away like with (French President Emmanuel Macron),” the Ukrainian leader said, referring to Putin receiving world leaders at a now famous enormously long table.

Zelensky – who just weeks ago sought to calm Ukrainians over US allegations that Russia was planning to invade his country — said: “Nobody thought that in the modern world a man can behave like a beast.”

Kyiv said more than 350 civilians have been killed since Putin launched the invasion.

“Any words are more important than shots,” Zelenskyy said from Kyiv as his delegation and Russian officials met in Belarus, in the Brest region that borders Poland.