Russian troops are shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine, prompting worries of an international disaster amid the Kremlin’s ongoing invasion of the country.
The shelling was underway at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar, a city about 400 miles from Kyiv. The Associated Press reported that officials have already detected elevated levels of radiation at the site, which provides about 25% of Ukraine’s power.
Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister, Dmytro Kuleba, confirmed the reports on Thursday evening, saying a fire had already broken out. He called for an immediate cease-fire to allow emergency officials to stop the blaze and said Russian troops were firing on the facility “from all sides.”
“If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger” than the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, Kuleba tweeted. “Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!”
