Ukraine accuses Russia of carrying out strikes near a nuclear reactor at the Zaporozhye plant

Ukraine on Friday accused the Russians of carrying out strikes near a nuclear reactor at the Zaporizhia station (south), which has been under the control of Russian forces since the start of the war.

The Ukrainian state company Energoatom, which operates the country's nuclear power plants, announced on Telegram that "three strikes were reported Friday evening near one of the nuclear reactors."

AFP was unable to contact Energoatom on Friday evening.

The company stated, "There are risks about hydrogen leakage and the spread of radioactive materials. The risk of fire is high," without talking about casualties.

According to Energoatom, officials of the Russian company Rosatom "hurriedly left the site before the strikes."

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the actions of the Russian forces at the Zaporizhia station on Friday.

In its statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "the possible repercussions of targeting an operating nuclear reactor are comparable to the (repercussions) of using a nuclear bomb," calling on the international community to take "immediate measures to push Russia to leave the plant" so that the latter "returns" under the control of Ukraine to serve the security of the whole world. ".

On Tuesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is continuing its efforts to send a mission to the site, said the situation was "unstable" at the Zaporizhia plant.

In late July, Ukraine accused Russia of stockpiling heavy weapons and ammunition at the site.

When Russian forces captured the station in early March, they fired on some buildings, raising fears of a major nuclear accident.

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