Russia launches new attacks near nuclear plant in Ukraine

KYIV: 

Ukraine and Russia each accused the other of attacks near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, amid ongoing international concern that the facility itself could be hit and cause a radiation leak.

Russia launched new rocket and artillery attacks near the facility early Sunday, with Ukrainian officials reporting significant damage.

Ukraine’s Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said that heavy firing during the night left parts of Nikopol, about 10 kilometers from the nuclear site, without electricity.

Rocket strikes damaged about a dozen homes in another nearby city, Marhanets.

The city of Zaporizhzhia, about 40 kilometers upriver from the nuclear facility, was also attacked, with city council member Anatoliy Kurtev saying two people were injured.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed Sunday that shells fired by Ukrainian forces fell near buildings storing reactor fuel and radioactive waste.

The U.S. State Department accused Russia of blocking a consensus document on a nuclear non-proliferation treaty because the agreement noted the risk posed by fighting near the Zaporizhzhia plant.

“For the Russian Federation to not accept such language in the face of overwhelming international consensus underscores the need for the United States and others to continue urging Russia to end its military activity near ZNPP and return control of the plant to Ukraine,” the statement said.

Despite the attacks, International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi said Ukraine had told it that “all safety systems remained operational and there had been no increase in radiation levels.”   (VOA)