Video shows a Russian missile striking less than 1,000 feet from a large Ukrainian nuclear plant, Ukraine's military says
Ukraine said a Russian missile strike landed less than 1,000 feet from a nuclear power plant on Monday.
The facility was the country's second-largest plant, the defense ministry said.
Ukrainian nuclear facilities have not been immune from fighting during the seven-month-long war.
A Russian missile landed less than 1,000 feet from Ukraine's second-largest nuclear power plant, the country's military and state energy operator said on Monday.
Ukraine's defense ministry shared a video of security footage near the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant, in the country's southern Mykolaiv region, with a timestamp of 12:19 a.m. local time.
The black-and-white video appeared to show the moment the Russian missile struck, illuminating a dark scene with a fireball that was immediately followed by larger second fireball.
"A missile fell 300 meters from the plant," Ukraine's defense ministry said, adding that the Kremlin's "nuclear terrorism continues" and arguing that Russia "is the threat to the whole world."
Energoatom, Ukraine's state nuclear operator, blamed the attack on "Russian terrorists" and said the strike landed close to the plant's reactors.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a top nuclear watchdog, did not immediately publish a statement or assessment of any potential damage. The New York Times, however, quoted Energoatom saying there was damage to a hydroelectric power station near the nuclear plant but not to any of the plant's essential safety equipment.
Ukraine's nuclear facilities have not been immune to fighting throughout the nearly seven-month-long war. Fighting near the country's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — which is the largest in Europe and has been occupied by Russian forces since March — has raised the alarms at watchdog agencies like the IAEA.
International inspectors have said that reckless shelling could trigger a nuclear disaster and have urged hostilities to cease.
Monday's strike near the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant comes after Western intelligence warned that Russian forces are increasingly targeting civilian infrastructure as President Vladimir Putin's forces continue suffer major battlefield defeats in the face of successful Ukrainian counteroffensive moves.
Last week, for example, Russian forces fired a volley of missiles at a local hydraulic structure in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown — in what officials said was "revenge" for Ukraine's punishing military advances.
In areas from which Russian forces recently retreated, Ukrainian troops have discovered mass graves and other evidence of wartime atrocities reminiscent of scenes from the Kyiv suburbs that were liberated from Russian occupation during the spring.
Kyiv accuses Russia of strike on southern nuclear plant
Kyiv accused Russia on Monday of attacking Ukraine's second-largest nuclear plant in the south of the war-scarred country, the latest burst of fighting around atomic facilities that has raised fears of a radiation emergency.
The Kremlin meanwhile dismissed outright claims that their forces had been responsible for mass killings in recently captured areas of east Ukraine and said Ukraine's claims it had discovered mass graves were made up.
Ukraine's nuclear energy agency, Energoatom, said the Russian army "carried out a missile attack" on the industrial site of the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant, with a "powerful explosion" just 300 metres (985 feet) from its reactors.
The strike damaged more than 100 windows of the power station's building, but the reactors were operating normally, according to the agency, which published photos of glass shattered around blown-out frames.
It also released images of what it said was a two-metre-deep crater from where the missile landed.
"Fortunately, no one among the power plant's staff was hurt," Energoatom said.
Attacks around nuclear facilities in Ukraine have spurred calls from Ukraine and its Western allies to de-militarise areas around the facilities.
Europe's largest atomic facility -- the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Russian-held territory in Ukraine -- has become a hot spot for concerns after tit-for-tat claims of attacks there.
- 'We have to stop' Russia -
Early in Russia's invasion in of Ukraine -- launched in late February -- there was fighting around Chernobyl in the the north, where an explosion in 1986 left swathes of the surrounding territory contaminated.
President Volodymyr blamed Russia for the attack in the southern Mykolaiv region on Monday, which he said resulted in a short power outage at the facility.
"Russia endangers the whole world. We have to stop it before it's too late," Zelensky said on Telegram.
The Zaporizhzhia plant was seized by Russian troops in March and shelling around the facility has spurred interventions from Western leaders. A monitoring team of the UN's atomic agency deployed there in early September.
French President Emmanuel Macron this month urged Vladimir Putin to withdraw Russian heavy weapons from the region, while the Russian president cautioned against potential "catastrophic" consequences of fighting there.
The Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine, where the Pivdennoukrainsk plant is located, is the near frontline of a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south against Russian forces.
Kyiv's forces have slowly but steadily been clawing back territory in the southern Kherson region, next to Mykolaiv, with the aim of capturing the strategically important hub, also called Kherson.
Ukraine's progress has been faster in the north, where a lightning grab this month has seen Kyiv's forces reconquer nearly the entire Kharkiv region.
Those gains have delt a serious blow to Moscow's ambitions of capturing and holding Donbas, a industrial region of eastern Ukraine that has been partially controlled by Kremlin-backed rebels since 2014.
"It may seem to some of you that after a series of victories we have a certain lull," Zelensky said in an address to the nation on Sunday evening.
"But this is not a lull. This is preparation ... the whole Ukraine must be free," he said.
- Mass grave 'lies' -
The recapture of cities like Kupiansk and Izyum, which were key hub on Russian resupply routes mean Moscow will have greater difficulty supplying frontline positions elsewhere in east Ukraine.
They have also brought fresh claims of atrocities committed by Russian troops during their months-long hold of Kharkiv-region towns and settlements, particularly after the discovery of mass burial sites.
The Kremlin on Monday denied Russian forces were responsible for mass killings, dismissing the claims as fabricated.
"These are lies," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday. Moscow "will stand up for the truth in this story."
Civilians in towns and cities recaptured by Ukraine, however, have recounted Russia's brutal occupation.
In Kupiansk, a town in Kharkiv, Mykhailo Chindey, said he had been tortured by Russian troops who suspected him of supplying coordinates to Ukrainian forces.
"One person was holding my hand and another one was beating my arm with a metal stick. They were beating me up two hours almost every day," he told AFP.
"I lost consciousness at some point. I lost a lot of blood. They hit my heels, back, legs and kidneys," he said.
Russian forces have meanwhile continued shelling Ukrainian-held towns near the frontlines.
The Ukraine presidency said that Russian forces remaining in the Kharkiv region had fired on a civilian car on Sunday, killing two women.
In the Donetsk region, Russia shelling killed five civilians and injured another 18 people, Kyiv said.
burs-jbr/lth/jm
500 Russian soldiers stationed at occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP, says Zelenskyy
Sun, September 18, 2022
The Russian occupier at Zaporizhzhya NPP
Read also: Russians attempting to strengthen front lines in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya oblasts
The President also expressed gratitude to the International Atomic Energy Agency employees who, despite pressure, were able to publish an objective report after visiting the occupied nuclear power plant.
Read also: Russia plans further provocations at Zaporizhzhya NPP, Ukrainian intelligence warns
"By the way, I am very grateful to the IAEA for making fair conclusions despite everything,” Zelenskyy said.
“Despite the fact that Russia put pressure (on them). They called for complete demilitarization only. This is what we constantly reiterated and raised the issue — only complete demilitarization of the nuclear power plant will ensure safety. And even then, we understand that it is not a fact that everything will be safe. Because now it is completely out of operation. The nuclear power plant has six reactors.”
Read also: Backup power line restored at occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP, says IAEA
The ZNPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and has been illegally occupied by Russian forces since March 4. The station’s Ukrainian employees are currently being held captive by invading Russian forces.
Russian troops are known to have set up firing positions at the ZNPP and have regularly shelled Ukrainian cities from them. Energoatom has reported that the Russian military placed more than a dozen pieces of military equipment, including ammunition, weapons, and explosives in the turbine hall of the first reactor of the plant.
Read also: Kyiv demands corridor for evacuation of population from territories surrounding occupied ZNPP, says deputy PM
The invaders also brought additional armored personnel carriers and special trucks to the repair area of the station on Aug. 22.
In total, more than 40 units of Russian military equipment have been placed on the grounds of the facility.
Read also: Zelenskyy agrees with IAEA report that Russian military should quit Zaporizhzhya NPP
On Aug. 25, Russian troops provoked the first temporary disconnection from the power grid in the history of the ZNPP. The ZNPP was against disconnected on Sept. 11, due to further Russian shelling that all power lines connecting the plant to the Ukrainian power grid.
Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
No comments:
Post a Comment