Ukraine's president calls for halt to Russian attacks on nuclear power plant

By Ali Cura

KYIV, Ukraine (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said early Friday that attacks by Russian troops on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant should be stopped and that if there is an explosion, “it would be the end of Europe.”

Pointing out that Zaporizhzhia is the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zelenskyy said “Europe must wake up now. Europe's largest nuclear power plant is on fire. Currently, Russian tanks are hitting nuclear units. These are tanks equipped with thermal imagers, so they know what they are shooting at. They have prepared for this,” Zelenskyy said in a video message on social media.

Noting that there are six energy units at the power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Zelenskyy recalled that only one energy unit exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986.

“We must stop the Russian army immediately. If there is an explosion, it will be the end of everything, the end of Europe,” said the president.

“This means the evacuation of Europe. Only European intervention can stop the Russian troops. Don't let Europe die from a disaster at a nuclear power plant,” he added.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said earlier on Twitter that a fire had broken out at the plant while Russian troops were attacking.

Later, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the fire “has not affected essential equipment” at the plant.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US and UK among others implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

According to UN figures, 227 civilians have been killed and 525 injured in Ukraine since the start of the war. Ukrainian authorities, however, put the death toll at over 2,000.

More than 1 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency.