Moscow and Kyiv accused each other of starting a fire on the grounds of Europe’s largest and now Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine on Sunday, with both sides reporting no sign of elevated radiation. The UN’s IAEA nuclear watchdog, which has a presence at the vast six-reactor facility, said its experts had seen strong, dark smoke coming from the northern area of the plant following multiple explosions.
Russian state news agencies, TASS and RIA, cited the country’s nuclear energy company Rosatom as saying the fire was extinguished shortly before midnight Sunday. RIA, citing Rosatom, said a drone attack started the fire at the cooling tower, without providing proof. Ukraine’s nuclear power firm Energoatom said one of the cooling towers and other equipment were damaged.