Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Neil Fullick Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved 2025 1:34 pm)8 min readA Russian serviceman patrols the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar  (Updated:  March 26, 2025 1:34 pm)8 min readby Kateryna DenisovaEditor's note: This story was updated on March 26 after Russia falsely claimed the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to be a Russian facility.The White House on March 19 proposed Ukraine pass its nuclear facilities to the U.S "The United States could be very helpful in running those plants with its electricity and utility expertise. American ownership of those plants would be the best protection for that infrastructure," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a press briefing on March 19 The control of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been actively discussed between Kyiv and Washington over the past week President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on March 14 that the fate of the plant and the adjacent Russian-occupied territories were discussed with the U.S during bilateral talks in Saudi Arabia a week prior Zelensky said that the return of the plant without Ukrainian control over the city in which the plant is located — Enerhodar — isn't possible "You can't just say: here's the plant and the city (of Enerhodar) is separate," Zelensky said is located on the Russian-occupied east bank of the Dnipro River with Ukraine having no access to the adjacent territory Experts told the Kyiv Independent that regaining control over the plant is a difficult goal for Ukraine and a potential prolonged military presence there without driving the Russians out of the surrounding territories is an unlikely option but definitely not an energy question," Oleksandr Kharchenko managing director at the Energy Industry Research Center "(But) I sincerely believe that the creation of a joint venture provided that the United States brings additional finances access to investments and capacity expansion to Ukrainian Energoatom be in Ukraine's favor," he added Russia’s Foreign Ministry claimed on March 25 that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is a Russian facility and cannot be transferred to Ukraine or any other country The ministry also ruled out the possibility of joint operation arguing that ensuring the plant’s physical and nuclear safety would be impossible Located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is a strategically important facility that Russia turned into a military base, Ukrainian officials have said According to Enerhodar's exiled mayor, Dmytro Orlov, around 1,000 Russian soldiers have been deployed on the plant's territory as of late summer 2024 Russian troops use the plant as a training ground and a launchpad for drone attacks targeting Ukraine-controlled territories, the military said. The city of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast The chances that Russia will voluntarily leave the plant remain "slim given its value," said Emil Kastehelmi an analyst at the Finland-based Black Bird Group "A withdrawal for whatever reason would be seen as a significant loss for Russia and removing Russian forces from the area would most likely require significant military power," he told the Kyiv Independent A fire at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on Aug (Screenshot / President Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram)"It plays an important role in the future in supplying electricity to the occupied territories which Russia also has no intention of giving back to their rightful owner." Kyiv pins hope to return the nuclear plant through diplomatic means after military attempts to regain control failed to succeed Military Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov and Ukrainian soldiers said the first attempt to create a bridgehead for the liberation of the occupied plant was made in August 2022 The two attempts of landing followed later the same year Kastehelmi said that a potential large-scale offensive by Ukraine to retake the plant looks "risky and unrealistic" at this time there could be a diplomatic breakthrough which would then give the plant back to Ukrainian control it's difficult to see where Ukraine could gain such political leverage," the expert said The Zaporizhzhia plant accounted for 20% of the country's electricity supplies and almost half of nuclear power generation before the full-scale war all of its siх reactors are in a cold shutdown The plant does not generate power and relies on two power lines connected to Ukrainian-controlled territories for off-site electricity Both have suffered repeated disconnections due to Russian attacks Ukraine's state-owned nuclear power plant operator said that the plant has experienced eight blackouts and one partial shutdown since the beginning of the all-out war A day after the U.S.-Russia talks in Riyadh in late February the head of Russia's state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom said that Russia is planning to relaunch the plant Energoatom Head Petro Kotin said that under current circumstances The plant was dependent on the Kakhovka Reservoir for water used to cool the reactors The reservoir dried out following the Russian destruction of the Kakhovka Dam Russia also lacks power lines and qualified personnel and the nuclear fuel at the plant is no longer usable it will not work without us," Zelensky said on March 18 "According to (Ukraine's) intelligence the Russians really want it to work without us They are trying to drag the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) into this." Inspectors from the IAEA, stationed at the Russian-occupied facility since the fall of 2022 to monitor risks and ensure the safety of operations the IAEA conducted its first rotation through the Russian-occupied territories which was met with outrage and concern by Kyiv Ukraine's Foreign Ministry blamed the situation on Russian blackmail saying that Moscow's forces had blocked staff rotations through Ukrainian-controlled territory Kharchenko believes that if the plant remains under Russian control in case of a ceasefire Moscow will sooner or later be able to restart its work “If they get enough time and do not face any opposition from Ukraine they will be able to do it (relaunch the plant) in some foreseeable period It is not easy and it won't be soon,” he said a defense expert and doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo said that if Ukraine could gain access to the plant and push Russian forces back enough to restart its work it would give "a significant boost" to Ukrainian energy production that's another piece of energy infrastructure that Russia cannot target the same way that Russia throughout the war has not been targeting other Ukrainian nuclear infrastructure simply because it's a big no," he told the Kyiv Independent "I think the Russians will try to maintain control over it just because it's politically useful for them And it would be economically enormously useful for Ukraine to get it back And that's reason enough for the Russians to try to hold it." as the talks about the plant's future gain traction in Kyiv and Washington Russia brought Rosatom employees to Enerhodar to take control of the plant Truth Hounds, a Ukrainian non-profit organization that documents and investigates war crimes, reported, citing witnesses, that with the knowledge of Rosatom, Russian troops have been abducting and torturing Ukrainian employees of whom 5,000 remain under occupation to this day executive director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union said around 2,000 refused to sign a contract with Rosatom The plant's employees are not allowed to leave the city and went through torture chambers set up by Russia in the city Pavlichenko calls the resistance that Russian troops faced during attempts to occupy the city may be the reason for "a very systematic terror against the entire population of Enerhodar." 21 employees of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are incarcerated as of March 18 In October 2022, the Kyiv Independent published a detailed report about the systematic torture in Enerhodar Residents of the Russian-occupied city and those who were able to escape have detailed the abductions and torture practices that local citizens had faced "Those who show any disagreement are persecuted," Pavlichenko said It's a so-called concentration camp." Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany Our goal: to leave no breach of freedom of information unreported our latest investigation reports as well as our publications produced every day by our regional offices in connection with our network of correspondents in 115 countries around the world we carry out in-depth work with governments and institutions We offer concrete solutions and launch international initiatives We are on the ground to assist journalists in danger Do you believe there can be no freedom of conscience without freedom of the press Do you want to help free and independent journalism Do you want to defend the right to information There are several ways to support RSF: find the one that suits you and join the fight Go behind the scenes of RSF and discover in detail our operations our governance… but also our favourite picks projects and events we support and who act in their own way to advance our commmon ideal The Ukrainian journalist was declared dead in September 2024 in a terse letter from the Russian Ministry of Defence Yet her body was never returned to her family and the circumstances of her death remain unclear Reporters Without Borders (RSF) spent months investigating her captivity and presumed death in partnership with three Ukrainian media outlets The NGO is exposing the inhumane conditions of Victoria Roshchyna’s detention and the blatant lack of medical care provided to the journalist despite alarming signs that her health was deteriorating as early as spring 2024 the Ukrainian authorities announced the journalist's body had been repatriated at the end of February 2025 The cause of death could not be determined due to the state of her body according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office On 29 April 2025, an international journalistic investigation coordinated by Forbidden Stories revealed that organs were missing from the journalist’s repatriated body The mutilation was likely intended to conceal the cause of her death.  according to a letter addressed to her family written blunt four lines of the letter came after months of fruitless research by her family and friends and provided no real explanation of what happened Russia's official communications — deliberately opaque, sometimes unrelated to the facts, and often blatantly misleading — rarely provide credible information on the fate or whereabouts of the scores of Ukrainian civilians who have been arbitrarily detained, at least 19 of whom are journalists currently behind Russian bars To shed light on the many unknown factors surrounding the disappearance of Victoria Roshchyna RSF and three Ukrainian media — investigative website Slidstvo.info public broadcasting group Suspilne and Graty an outlet that specialises in legal matters — investigated the final months of her captivity which attest to the extremely dangerous physical and psychological conditions inflicted on the 27-year-old journalist the ill-treatment she suffered and the lack of care that ultimately led to her presumed death From the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia’s Taganrog Prison Several testimonies gathered by RSF during this investigation detailed the atrocious conditions of Taganrog One Ukrainian soldier described being beaten given electric shocks “so strong that some lose consciousness,” deprived of food and kept in a freezing cell where the window was deliberately removed to expose the prisoners to the rain and freezing air of the long winter months One civilian recounts the regular threats of rape and the beatings against on those who asked to see a doctor “The place is hell,” said another RSF source.  When Victoria Roshchyna was admitted in December 2023 she had scars and gashes on her body from her detention in a makeshift prison in Melitopol she asked to speak with Taganrog staff to no avail When a local delegation from the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation visited the prison in March 2024 she was removed from her cell and held apart no doubt to prevent the commissioner from asking questions One witness described a particularly trying day when the journalist was visibly experiencing “a panic attack.” put pressure on her fellow inmates and tried to force-feed her it looks like she's eaten her cheeks,” one of them mocked her one day Her condition deteriorated and the prison administration refused to give her medication despite her repeated requests It was not until June that the journalist finally saw a doctor for the first time It was already very late: Victoria Roshchyna no longer had enough strength to lift her head from her pillow she only weighed around thirty kilos when she was finally evacuated on a stretcher later that month the reporter finally returned to Taganrog prison The journalist was placed in solitary confinement but appeared to be in better condition according to several corroborating accounts She walked unassisted and responded to calls from the guards we can't see you eat.” At the end of August she managed to make a brief call to her family she was seen for the last time in the prison she was declared dead by the Russian authorities.  Was she transferred out between 8 and 19 September None of the RSF witnesses interviewed for this investigation were able to answer these questions why has her body not been returned almost six months after her death The requests for explanations RSF has sent to the Russian Ministry of Defence have gone unanswered Victoria Roshchyna may not have been able to return from reporting but we will continue to search for the truth carried out in partnership with three Ukrainian media reveals the extent of the ill-treatment inflicted on Victoria Roshchyna and the extreme delay in her medical treatment despite the rapid deterioration in her state of health By refusing to release the journalist and provide her with appropriate care — until the point when she could no longer stand — Russia bears enormous responsibility for what happened to this Ukrainian reporter The fact that her body has not been returned to her family only strengthens any suspicions about the abuse she suffered and casts further doubts on the declaration of her death All RSF sources in this investigation have been made anonymous for security reasons.  If you have any information about Victoria Roshchyna or any other Ukrainian journalist killed or detained by Russia, you can write to us securely at [email protected]  We depend on you in order to be able to monitor respect for press freedom and take action worldwide You support our activities when you buy our books of photos: all of the profits go to Reporters Without Borders Looking to access paid articles across multiple policy topics Interested in policy insights for EU professional organisations Safety at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is deteriorating following a drone strike that hit a perimeter access road on Saturday (17 August) according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Mariano Grossi News Service Produced externally by an organization we trust to adhere to journalistic standards A picture taken during a visit to Enerhodar organised by the Russian Defence ministry shows a general view of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar Tuesday World Subscribers only In Zurich the leaf blower war or the anti-'woke' backlash World Subscribers only Germany's Friedrich Merz is embracing pragmatism World Subscribers only Trump-Carney meeting: Canada seeks reconciliation World Subscribers only Friedrich Merz bets on two private sector converts to revive the German economy and reform the state World Subscribers only Founder of Sant'Egidio 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Bolton: 'The term chaos is commonly used to describe the top of the Defense Department' Opinion Subscribers only 'It is pointless to imagine a significant wave of American academics leaving' Magazine Subscribers only Tracking down the pianos taken from French Jews during the Nazi Occupation Magazine Subscribers only Eve Rodsky the American helping couples balance the mental load Magazine Subscribers only Desecration or more glory Joan Didion's private diaries are revealed Magazine Subscribers only For Jewish cartoonist Joann Sfar 2025."> Pixels Subscribers only Golden Owl solution is revealed but leaves players of 31-year hunt disappointed Pixels Subscribers only Secrets of decades-long Golden Owl treasure hunt to be revealed Lifestyle Inside Chanel's French leather workshops Culture Subscribers only The marvelous bronzes of Angkor on display at the Musée Guimet in Paris gives an update on the safety of the occupied nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia The fate of the plant was to be discussed between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin Interview by Faustine Vincent (Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) 2025 RAFAEL YAGHOBZADEH / RAFAEL YAGHOBZADEH FOR LE MONDE During their telephone conversation on Tuesday Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agreed to a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine White House special envoy Steve Witkoff hinted that the fate of the Zaporizhzhia power plant The International Atomic Energy Agency has expressed concern over the matter The mayor of the occupied town of Enerhodar refused to comment on the Russian-American negotiations he discusses the risk of a nuclear catastrophe stating that Ukrainian employees are still working under the threat of weapons and that equipment has deteriorated only 2,000 signed an agreement with [the Russian state-owned group] Rosatom despite not having the required qualifications Several plant employees have also been sentenced to prison terms of between 15 and 20 years You have 62.47% of this article left to read Lecture du Monde en cours sur un autre appareil Vous pouvez lire Le Monde sur un seul appareil à la fois Ce message s’affichera sur l’autre appareil Parce qu’une autre personne (ou vous) est en train de lire Le Monde avec ce compte sur un autre appareil Vous ne pouvez lire Le Monde que sur un seul appareil à la fois (ordinateur En cliquant sur « Continuer à lire ici » et en vous assurant que vous êtes la seule personne à consulter Le Monde avec ce compte Que se passera-t-il si vous continuez à lire ici Ce dernier restera connecté avec ce compte Vous pouvez vous connecter avec votre compte sur autant d’appareils que vous le souhaitez mais en les utilisant à des moments différents Nous vous conseillons de modifier votre mot de passe Votre abonnement n’autorise pas la lecture de cet article merci de contacter notre service commercial which covers dissent in the Soviet Union and Russia today Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on May 5 announced they had facilitated Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash's escape from Russia to France after she fled house arrest on April 21  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 6:22 am)Ukraine's drones target Moscow second night in a row, Russian official claims. Debris from one of the drones reportedly fell on the Kashirskoye Highway The reported attack comes just days before Russia's Victory Day parade and three-day "truce." A Russian drone attack on Odesa Oblast on May 5 killed one and caused damage to local infrastructure "We appreciate that Germany plays a pivotal role in supporting Ukraine throughout the years of war Ukraine is also grateful for your personal commitment," President Volodymyr Zelensky said MPs will be able to ask questions and learn more about the details of the agreement in meetings with Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko May 6-7 MP Serhii Sobolev told the news outlet Suspilne The ratification vote is scheduled for May 8 Attacks against the border villages of Bilopillia and Vorozhba damaged civilian infrastructure and triggered emergency evacuations the regional military administration reported "I look forward to working with President Erdogan on getting the ridiculous war between Russia and Ukraine ended — now!" U.S Putin's Victory Day truce "doesn't sound like much if you know where we started from," Trump told reporters at the White House on May 5 Far-right Euroskeptic candidate George Simion head of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan placed second with 20.99% of the vote and the candidate from the ruling coalition "It requires the continuation of contacts between Moscow and Washington which have been launched and are now ongoing," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said set to operate within the Council of Europe will focus on Russia's political and military leaders by Kateryna HodunovaThe car in which the collaborator Andrii Korotkyi was riding exploded in the morning on Oct in the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia Oblast (Ukraine's military intelligence)Editor's note: The article was updated with a comment by military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov the "head of security" working for Russian occupation authorities in the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant exploded in the nearby Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) said on Oct Russia seized Enerhodar in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant in March 2022 Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of endangering the station's safety and using it as a tool for nuclear blackmail The car detonation occurred on Oct. 4 around 7 a.m. local time, according to military intelligence A video published by the agency shows a powerful blast inside the car Military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov said in a comment for the Kyiv Independent that "according to available information 0:00/1×A video released by Ukraine's military intelligence purpots to show a car with Andrii Korotkyi exploding in Russian-occupied Enerhodar (HUR/Telegram)Korotkyi was a collaborator involved in the organization and execution of war crimes and repression of Ukrainians under Russian occupation Korotkyi began cooperating with the Russian occupation authorities giving them lists of plant employees with their personal data and pointing to citizens with a pro-Ukrainian position Korotkyi organized events to support the Russian army He was also a member of the ruling United Russia political party and headed the Russia-installed town "council" in Enerhodar Throughout its occupation, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been repeatedly disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid due to Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure The plant has already experienced eight complete blackouts, the state nuclear energy company Energoatom said Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported on Sept. 15 that Russian forces continued to use the territory of the occupied power plant to deploy military personnel and store ammunition and explosives and criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for supposedly ignoring the fact. 4:31 PMLinkShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleRussian President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb Ukrainian troops have offered "stiff resistance," according to U.S The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine's disputed Donbas region capturing the strategic port city of Mariupol and securing a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula The shelling by Russia in recent days around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine landed close to two of the facility's nuclear reactor buildings according to the International Atomic Energy Agency said Sunday that Russian rockets hit two "special buildings" about 100 meters Grossi said the buildings hit in the attack house the facility's water treatment plants equipment repair shops or waste management facilities Grossi said there was damage to some water pipelines at the site but they have since been repaired He said measurements of radioactivity were within normal range and there was no indication of any hydrogen leakage continues to access electricity from an off-site source after the plant temporarily lost connection to its last remaining operational 750 kilovolt external power line on Thursday Two reactor units that were disconnected from the electricity grid when power was cut to the plant on Thursday have been re-connected The other four reactor units that were disconnected before Thursday remained shut down on Sunday He said the latest shelling once again underlines the risk of a potential nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia plant which is under the control of Russian forces but being operated by Ukrainian staff International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said he’s engaged in active consultations with all parties to lead and organize an IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "hopefully in the next few days.” Grossi said in a statement that Thursday’s sudden loss of external power showed that IAEA's presence is urgently needed called Thursday’s disconnection of power lines at Zaporizhzhia a "very serious deterioration… due to Russian shelling on the side of Nikopol on the side of the Dnipro river." The diesel generator operators were able to kick in during the disconnection Asked what’s the likelihood this would happen again "This is one step from the emergency radiation and it's out of the territory of the plant." He said there'd be 10 days of idle time before a meltdown if the diesel generators are working Inspectors could gain access to the site in as soon as five days the Zaporizhzhia plant is a strategic stronghold as it seeks to control the ground pathway from occupied Donetsk to Crimea and onto Odesa Zaporizhzhia supplies Ukraine with around 20% of its energy Kotin reiterated that Russia intends to switch power to Russian-controlled areas All of the reactors at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have been shut down for the first time in the plant’s history Ukraine's state nuclear regulator Energoatom reported Zaporizhzhia -- the largest nuclear power plant in Europe -- has six reactors according to Ukraine's state nuclear regulator the last operating line providing power to the plant was disconnected due to hostilities in the area and as a result all six reactors were disconnected from the grid for 17 minutes local time the overhead line was restored and reactors Nos The International Atomic Energy Agency said the temporary shut down further shows "the urgent need for an IAEA expert mission to travel to the facility." If external power is lost there's not active circulation of the water that cools the reactor and that could lead to a reactor meltdown the plant "remained connected to a 330 kV line from the nearby thermal power facility that can provide back-up electricity if needed," the IAEA said in a statement "As a result of the cuts in the 750 kV power line the ZNPP’s two operating reactor units were disconnected from the electricity grid and their emergency protection systems were triggered while all safety systems remained operational." "There was no information immediately available on the direct cause of the power cuts," the IAEA said "The six-reactor ZNPP normally has four external power lines but three of them were lost earlier during the conflict The IAEA remains in close contact with Ukraine and will provide updated information as soon as it becomes available." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Thursday "The world must understand what a threat this is: If the diesel generators hadn’t turned on if the automation and our staff of the plant had not reacted after the blackout then we would already be forced to overcome the consequences of the radiation accident Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster." He called on the IAEA and other international organizations to act faster "because every minute the Russian troops stay at the nuclear power plant is a risk of a global radiation disaster." Two Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant employees were killed on their day off when Russian forces shelled the city of Enerhodar -ABC News’ Yuriy Zaliznyak and Dada Jovanovic Russian President Vladimir Putin's \"special military operation\" into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb Ukrainian troops have offered \"stiff resistance,\" according to U.S Black From Amazon $69.98 $99.99 Shop Now ","id":121410448},{"content":" 10 Amazon Conair Hot Rollers Hair Curlers for Long visitors will leave goodmorningamerica.com These eCommerce sites are operated under different terms and privacy policies than goodmorningamerica.com."},"headline":"Russia-Ukraine updates: Russian missiles hit close to nuclear reactors: IAEA director","lastUpdated":"2022-08-28T16:31:59Z","relatedContentSection":"news","relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"May 2 2025","headline":"Shein and Temu products get more expensive as tariffs go into 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daughter.","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/250421_gma_digital_meetingpopefrancis_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"ABC News' Terry Moran met Pope Francis on a flight while on assignment as a reporter Meredith Deliso","word_count":77,"content_type":"liveblog","media_on_page":"","global.TagID":"aclick_news06b","article_share":"link"},"fbButtonTracking":{"event_detail":"gma:International:liveBlog:share_facebook","link_name":"share_facebook","event_name":"share","position_number":"zero","share_content_type":"article","share_method":"share_facebook","liveblog.post_headline":null,"liveblog.post_id":null,"author":"Morgan Winsor Meredith Deliso","word_count":77,"content_type":"liveblog","media_on_page":"","global.TagID":"aclick_news06b","article_share":"facebook"},"twitterButtonTracking":{"event_detail":"gma:International:liveBlog:share_twitter","link_name":"share_twitter","event_name":"share","position_number":"zero","share_content_type":"article","share_method":"share_twitter","liveblog.post_headline":null,"liveblog.post_id":null,"author":"Morgan Winsor Meredith Deliso","word_count":77,"content_type":"liveblog","media_on_page":"","global.TagID":"aclick_news06b","article_share":"twitter"},"emailButtonTracking":{"event_detail":"gma:International:liveBlog:share_email","link_name":"share_email","event_name":"share","position_number":"zero","share_content_type":"article","share_method":"share_email","liveblog.post_headline":null,"liveblog.post_id":null,"author":"Morgan Winsor nuclear plant during phone call","url":"https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/russia-ukraine/?id=85460300#88849538"}],"title":"Latest headlines:","footer":"Here's how the news is developing All times Eastern."},"entries":[{"contentType":"liveblogentry","date":{"date":"2022-08-28T16:31:59Z","preFormat":"MMM DD h:mm A z","useShort":false,"text":"2022-08-28T16:31:59Z","threshold":4,"thresholdType":"hours"},"headline":"Russian missiles hit close to nuclear reactors: IAEA director","subHeadline":"","storyNodes":[{"localName":"p","outerHTML":"The shelling by Russia in recent days around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine landed close to two of the facility's nuclear reactor buildings said Sunday that Russian rockets hit two \"special buildings\" about 100 meters International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Mariano Grossi said he’s engaged in active consultations with all parties to lead and organize an IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant \"hopefully in the next few days.” Grossi said in a statement that Thursday’s sudden loss of external power showed that IAEA's presence is urgently needed a \"very serious deterioration… due to Russian shelling on the side of Nikopol on the side of the Dnipro river.\" \"This is one step from the emergency radiation and it's out of the territory of the plant.\" The International Atomic Energy Agency said the temporary shut down further shows \"the urgent need for an IAEA expert mission to travel to the facility.\" the plant \"remained connected to a 330 kV line from the nearby thermal power facility that can provide back-up electricity if needed,\" the IAEA said in a statement \"As a result of the cuts in the 750 kV power line while all safety systems remained operational.\" \"There was no information immediately available on the direct cause of the power cuts,\" the IAEA said \"The six-reactor ZNPP normally has four external power lines The IAEA remains in close contact with Ukraine and will provide updated information as soon as it becomes available.\" \"The world must understand what a threat this is: If the diesel generators hadn’t turned on Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster.\" \"because every minute the Russian troops stay at the nuclear power plant is a risk of a global radiation disaster.\" You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed (CNN) — The fate of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been a concern since Moscow’s forces stormed the facility in March 2022 The UN’s nuclear watchdog has repeatedly warned about the security dangers facing the plant – the largest nuclear power station in Europe – which sits on the front line of Russia’s invasion Now, the Zaporizhzhia plant is expected to be part of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine Trump administration officials said this week The White House press secretary on Monday falsely asserted that the occupied nuclear power plant is “on the border,” given that its location in the city of Enerhodar is almost 200 miles from Ukraine’s internationally recognized border right on the front line on the Russian-controlled side of Zaporizhzhia Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant supplied roughly 20% of Ukraine’s energy Ukrainian officials have previously accused Russia of endangering the nuclear facility and surrounding population while Moscow has accused Ukraine of instigating attacks on the plant Ukraine has also previously raised concerns that Russia could try to connect the plant to its own power grid Speaking to journalists in Kyiv last Friday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the plant “is a problem for the Russians.” “Its existence is impossible without Ukraine We need money and specialists to restore it it will take several years,” Zelensky said “This is also a problem for us because it is our plant “I am sure that they (Russia) will make political public statements that the station will soon be operational and will supply electricity to the territories controlled by the Russians It will not happen quickly,” Zelensky added “And the (UN nuclear watchdog) IAEA will be under constant political pressure because the IAEA cannot allow them to do this.” Trump said on Sunday that negotiators had already pinpointed certain topics up for discussion in his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin including “dividing up certain assets” and saying: “We will be talking about land Asked about Trump’s comment on power plants White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday: “There’s a power plant that is on the border of Russia and Ukraine that was up for discussion with the Ukrainians and he will address it in his call with Putin,” specifying that she was talking about the nuclear plant but I can say we are on the 10th yard line of peace and we’ve never been closer to a peace deal than we are in this moment is determined to get one done,” Leavitt also said Zaporizhzhia is one of the four regions illegally annexed by Russia in 2022 The Kremlin annexed the regions of Donetsk Kherson and Zaporizhzhia following so-called referendums in the regions that were dismissed as “shams” by Ukraine and Western nations Russia had previously annexed Crimea in 2014 Putin has continued to make maximalist demands to control all of those regions even though Ukraine still holds significant amounts of territory in Donetsk The Kremlin said last month that the four occupied and annexed regions are “an integral part of Russia” and “non-negotiable.” CNN’s Victoria Butenko and Anna Chernova contributed to this report The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network KRDO NewsChannel 13 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community Guidelines | KRDO Jobs | FCC Applications | KRDO FCC Public File | KRDO FCC Applications | Do Not Sell My Personal Information | Contest Rules Ukraine’s HUR military intelligence agency said Andriy Korotkiy was inside his vehicle when it was hit by an explosion at around 7:00 a.m local time in the Russian-occupied city of Enerhodar.  The HUR shared a blurry surveillance video of a white SUV being ripped apart by a powerful blast The video’s authenticity could not be independently verified.  Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said its Zaporizhzhia region branch launched a criminal murder case over the incident who was only identified by his job title and not by name Ukraine’s HUR accused Korotkiy of defecting to the Russian occupying authorities and helping them commit “war crimes and repossessions against Ukrainians under occupation.” Russia seized control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant days after it launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 The UN’s nuclear safety agency IAEA has urged restraint amid mutual accusations of attacks on the plant that could spark a major nuclear accident Ukraine’s HUR claimed Korotkiy had shared the personal data of pro-Ukrainian colleagues with the Russian occupational authorities and “regularly organized events” in support of the Russian forces He was a member of Enerhodar’s Moscow-installed municipal council from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party “The HUR warns that every war criminal will receive fair retribution,” the Ukrainian military intelligence wrote on Facebook Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help please support us monthly starting from just $2 and every contribution makes a significant impact independent journalism in the face of repression A court in occupied southeastern Ukraine sentenced an employee of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to 15 years in prison on charges of attempted sabotage, Russian authorities said Thursday Federal prosecutors accused Ukrainian national Natalia Shulga of planting an explosive device on a transmission tower in the city of Enerhodar in June Russian security agents allegedly discovered and replaced the device with a dummy before it could be detonated The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office claimed Shulga had joined a Ukrainian special services “sabotage group” in February 2022 the month Russia launched its full-scale invasion A Russian-controlled court in the Zaporizhzhia region found Shulga guilty of participating in a sabotage group attempted sabotage and attempted arms smuggling was sentenced to 15 years in a medium-security penal colony and fined 500,000 rubles ($5,600) The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office said the sentence fully aligned with its request Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe’s largest — within days of launching their invasion both sides have accused each other of endangering nuclear safety by attacking the site Inspectors from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency have been stationed at the plant since September 2022 to monitor nuclear security your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt Ukraine's military intelligence agency (GUR) has claimed responsibility for the killing of the head of security at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant branding him a "war criminal" and a "collaborator" with Russia The GUR posted a video on its Telegram channel showing a SUV exploding and hours later the Russian Investigative Committee confirmed that Andrei Korotkiy was killed in Enerhodar "voluntarily collaborated" with Moscow after it seized control of the nuclear facility in the early weeks of the war The agency alleged he had passed on personal data of the facility's workers to Russian forces highlighting those with a "pro-Ukrainian position" as well as organising events which supported the "occupation" "The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence reminds people that every war criminal will be fairly punished," the GUR said in a post on Telegram But Zaporizhzhia authorities quickly condemned the killing and vowed those responsible for Korotkiy's would be punished inhumane act," said the facility's director "An attack on employees ensuring the safety of the nuclear facility is a reckless is the largest in Europe and prior to the 2022 Russian invasion supplied Ukraine with around 30% of its electricity at least three people – including a six-year-old girl – have been killed when the Russian military hit a car carrying liquefied natural gas in the northern village of Hirsk Village head Andrii Apryshko said the strike caused the gas cylinders to explode causing a fire which spread to a nearby house "They dropped a shell later when we were already putting out the fire here They did not let us put out the fire," he said Local officials said one man had a leg blown off in the blast while one other suffered shrapnel wounds and burns residents of Pokrovsk have begun patching up their homes after overnight Russian strikes caused extensive damage and injured four people the Russian military dropped six bombs on the city damaging a multi-story building Around 80% of the city's infrastructure was wiped out as a result of the assault Russia made a renewed effort to seize Pokrovsk prompting authorities in the city to urge residents particularly the elderly and families with children The city's military administration said that as of 4 October down from its pre-war population of around 60,000 Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenksyy met soldiers recovering in hospital "Thank you for defending our country," he said Sumy lies some 32 kilometres from Russia’s Kursk region where Ukrainian troops have been deployed since 6 August in a bid to divert the Kremlin’s military focus away from the front line in Ukraine Zelenskyy's visit to Sumy comes a day after he met new NATO chief Mark Rutte in Kyiv where he repeated his appeal for faster deliveries of Western weapons to the battlefield "The Kremlin is following its usual pattern of blackmail the occupiers used armed attack aircraft with white flags deployed in the area where the line between the government-controlled territories and the temporarily occupied zone crosses It was there that the IAEA experts were supposed to cross," noted Tykhyy the scenario of disrupting rotations is always similar Russian forces delay agreeing on the location and time for the rotation then send uncertain signals about allegedly being ready to ensure safe passage the enemy opens fire or begins combat operations at the specified location Russian attack aircraft appear with white flags and IAEA flags and Moscow claims that "everything is ready" for the mission This is not the first time such actions have been repeated but the security risks are getting higher every time," the statement said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson emphasized that Russia is trying to force the IAEA to violate Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by sending international experts to the Zaporizhzhia NPP through temporarily occupied territories Moscow is blackmailing with the complete blocking of the IAEA mission’s work "Russian pressure on the IAEA is unacceptable and we demand that the international community defend the Agency against Russian blackmail," the spokesperson stressed Tykhyi also added that Moscow is trying to undermine the IAEA’s authority and create conditions under which independent oversight would become impossible Ukrainian politician further stated that Ukraine will not allow Russia to undermine the independence of the IAEA and called for support for the Agency The Zaporizhzhia NPP is the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Europe Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion the plant has been under Russian occupation The Russians are disregarding safety at the Zaporizhzhia NPP The occupiers have stationed military personnel and equipment at the plant Ukraine's intelligence reported that drone launches had been detected from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP On February 11, Zaporizhzhia NPP once again faced the threat of a blackout. One of the two power supply lines to the plant was disconnected due to shelling. Last week, the IAEA postponed the rotation of its mission at the Zaporizhzhia NPP due to the lack of security guarantees from Russia. Reporting by John Revill in Zurich and David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis The roots of Russia's invasion of Ukraine go back decades and run deep The current conflict is more than one country fighting to take over another; it is — in the words of one U.S official — a shift in "the world order."Here are some helpful stories to make sense of it all A motorcade transporting the International Atomic Energy Agency expert mission arrives at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant amid the conflict in Ukraine Ukraine — The mayor of the town closest to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant says he hopes the Russian forces now controlling the complex will move out following an inspection by the United Nations nuclear watchdog which sits less than 2 miles from Europe's largest power plant says the occupying Russian forces have been using the plant as a fortress and a staging ground to shell local residents "I only hope that the international experts will be able to assess and take appropriate decisions in order to protect the whole world from the disaster," he tells NPR in an interview from Zaporizhzhia City Orlov had to leave Enerhodar weeks ago for his safety A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency got to the plant Thursday to assess the safety and security of the complex which has been under Russian occupation since early March despite long delays and intense shelling Thursday morning along the preapproved route A local resident removes debris inside an apartment building damaged by shelling in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar Ukrainian officials say Russian forces are to blame for the attacks on the route Orlov says he can tell because "around 2 seconds" pass between hearing a mortar shot and the resulting explosion the distance of this weapon is somewhere around 1-2 kilometers from the place that was hit," he tells NPR "This [where the sounds are originating from] is occupied territory." Orlov notes that residents from Primernoye and Ivanivka, two villages in the Zaporizhzhia region, under Russian control, have reported shelling originating from their villages. He also says that he has seen shelling originate from the nuclear power plant; missiles that struck the cities of Nikopol and Marganec across the Dnipro River A view of the damage after airstrikes by Russian forces in Nikopol which is across a river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine Many buildings were damaged by the Russian attacks Russia says it is the Ukrainians who are doing the shelling Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that Moscow was working hard to facilitate the IAEA visit "We are doing everything to ensure that this station is safe that it functions safely," Lavrov said in Moscow on Thursday "And for the mission there to carry out all of its plans." Nuclear experts around the world have warned that a nuclear catastrophe is imminent if the Russians aren't maintaining the plant correctly and if shelling in the area does not stop Orlov calls the reduced crew of Ukrainian workers at the plant "heroes," and says they are under immense physical and psychological pressure Many of the plant's employees are residents of his town — its prewar population a little over 53,000 — where Orlov says the shops and internet have stopped working and everyone lives in fear of the constant shelling or the Russian troops and their armed allies walking around town "Everyone who expresses a pro-Ukrainian position openly — or not openly — is being taken to basement and tortured." Ukraine's nuclear energy operator, Enerhoatom, says IAEA director Rafael Mariano Grossi and most of his delegation left the Zaporizhzhia plant by Thursday evening Ukrainian time It says five representatives of the mission will stay behind until Saturday International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi talks to the press on a road outside Zaporizhzhia city after his visit to the Russian-held nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Thursday Polina Lytvynova contributed to this report Become an NPR sponsor Olexander lives in Enerhodar – a satellite city for the Zaporizhzhia power station where he used to work An accident or artillery attack are constant fears I dedicated my life to nuclear power and have always been proud to be part of it the Zaporizhzhia plant is our pride and destiny about half of the capacity of all Ukrainian nuclear plants and a quarter of the country’s entire energy sector We have been living under occupation for almost six months It’s like a double occupation – the city and the nuclear plant have been captured we were sure that the city and the inhabitants would not suffer But there are already wounded from the shelling at the station The station and the city are almost a single whole because these are places where people work and live The station continues its struggle for existence It is full of Russian military vehicles and soldiers we investigate any deviation in the operation of equipment or a mistake of personnel Corrective actions have to be taken after that Now such crazy things are happening at the station such as the delivery of military equipment to the turbine halls of power units damage to equipment as a result of shelling the station’s territory A Russian serviceman on guard at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in south-east Ukraine Photograph: APThere were reports of people being kidnapped It’s hard to describe the feeling when you read about the kidnapping of a person you know personally The situation changed dramatically 10 days ago when the Russians began firing at the station and the outskirts of the city The city was left without electricity for several hours every day and every night we hear the roar of artillery salvos Sometimes the Russians drive their artillery so close that it sounds like shooting in a neighbouring yard Even those who do not believe in God pray for their salvation Sometimes it happens in the middle of night An ordinary person cannot distinguish the sounds of an artillery salvo and a shell burst every time it seems that this is an explosion and the next projectile will hit your house We know that they are hitting the opposite bank of the Dnieper – the cities of Nikopol and Marganets an alert is activated in Telegram channels – get to a shelter Someone is trying to save people day and night In the morning we read how many houses were destroyed and how many people were killed and injured For many years these cities perceived our nuclear plant as a source of mortal danger Kindergartens and schools were closed immediately after the invasion Although boys play basketball every day on the playground in front of the school children’s voices on the street are heard less and less force people to write prices in hryvnias and rubles I do not understand where the rubles come from here except for those that were distributed to some pensioners Maybe it’s an important part of their reports to Moscow There is cold and hot water and electricity in the city we have always been under protection of the nuclear plant Several internet providers have been restored but the traffic passes through Russia with all Russian internet bans and limitations Doctors at the hospital are receiving salaries but Here we also have the Zaporizhzhia thermal power plant, the largest in Ukraine. It was shut down due to damage to the railway bridge and the impossibility of delivering coal. All billboards in the city are used for Russian propaganda – covered in quotes from Putin and phrases about one people – Russian and Ukrainian. Before that, portraits of Soviet generals from the second world war and heroes of the Soviet Union hung there. People pass by indifferently. Russian flags hang over the city hall and elsewhere, although faded ones. People are leaving the city. I often notice that someone from my apartment block has not been seen for a long time. In any case, everyone is trying to send children and wives to the unoccupied territory or abroad. Two days ago, my neighbour could not stand it and evacuated his children. You can struggle against your own fear but it is impossible to fight fear in the eyes of your children. It is possible to exit the city, but just a week ago, at the checkpoint in Vasilievka, where the line of demarcation runs, there was a queue of thousands of cars from various occupied regions and people stood there for several days. Men stay. Most of them perceive work at the nuclear plant as their duty. Nuclear power workers in Ukraine are legally exempt from conscription, so it’s like their military service. But all the same, staff members are leaving, including operational ones. Despite everything, we continue to believe that all this will end soon. As long as we believe, the station continues to work, and the city continues to live. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The city on the southern bank of the Dnieper river is a suburb of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant exhausted by the bombardments during the last few weeks and by the harassment of the occupying Russian troops By Olivier Truc (Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) special correspondent) A member of the Ukrainian civil defense checks the radiation level of cars coming from the occupied territories RAFAEL YAGHOBZADEH FOR "LE MONDE" Enerhodar is emptying of its residents through a slow hemorrhage of Ukrainians exhausted by the bombardments of the last few weeks and by the harassment of the occupying Russian troops There is also the threat of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant hanging over this bleak city on the banks of the Dnieper river and its rows of buildings dating from the Soviet era "It looks like Enerhodar is dying," sighed Olena a 21-year-old woman who left Enerhodar at the beginning of September the first town across the demarcation line from the occupied area is the home of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station occupied by the Russians since the beginning of March The power plant has become notorious throughout the world since the beginning of August The city had 53,000 inhabitants before the Russian invasion on February 24 The shellings and bombings have aroused fears of a nuclear disaster of unknown magnitude Olena gave up working in a store because she couldn't stand to see Russian soldiers there Russians in civilian clothes walk around listening to our conversations they say that people who are patriots may be agents of Kyiv." You have 75.29% of this article left to read That's according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine the leaders of the city's pseudo-police held a meeting in Enerhodar on Friday a powerful explosion rang out in the office of the head of the "institution." In addition to Colonel Chesanov the explosion also injured his deputy for operational work the head of the duty unit and the heads of a number of other units three ambulances urgently arrived from temporarily occupied Melitopol The wounded are to be taken from there by military helicopters to Russia in addition to housing the "police" office this building was also used as a residence for Russian military personnel The building was severely damaged by the explosion and a fire spread to third to fifth floors While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A team of U.N. inspectors made its way toward Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Wednesday on a perilous, long-sought mission to safeguard the site and prevent a catastrophe from the fighting raging around it. WATCH: Fighting in southern Ukraine raises concerns over nuclear plant occupied by Russian forces Underscoring the danger, Kyiv and Moscow again accused each other of shelling the area around the complex overnight Zaporizhzhia is the biggest nuclear plant in Europe Fighting in early March caused a brief fire at its training complex, and in recent days, the plant was temporarily knocked offline because of damage to a transmission line, heightening fears of a radiation leak or even a reactor meltdown Officials have begun distributing anti-radiation iodine tablets to nearby residents has been occupied by Russian forces and run by Ukrainian engineers since the early days of the 6-month-old war Ukraine alleges Russia is using the plant as a shield storing weapons there and launching attacks from around it while Moscow accuses Ukraine of recklessly firing on the facility the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has sought access to the plant for an unprecedented wartime mission and world leaders have demanded that the U.N With the convoy of vans and U.N.-marked SUV finally arriving in the afternoon in Zaporizhzhia city still some 120 kilometers (70 miles) by road from the plant IAEA chief and mission leader Rafael Grossi underscored the challenges ahead WATCH: IAEA chief discusses an Iran nuclear deal, fighting near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant “It’s a mission that seeks to prevent a nuclear accident and to preserve this important — the largest, the biggest — nuclear power plant in Europe,” he said. He said an initial tour would take a few days, after which “we will have a pretty good idea of what’s going on.” He said he had received “explicit guarantees” from Russia that the 14 experts would be able to do their work. Grossi said he is hoping the IAEA will be able to establish a “continued presence” at the plant to safeguard it against an accident. The world watched the mission’s progress with anxiety. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell renewed a call to Russia to fully demilitarize the area around the plant. “They are playing games. They are gambling with the nuclear security,” Borrell said. “We cannot play war games in the neighborhood of a site like this.” While the inspectors were on their way, Russia-backed local authorities accused Ukrainian forces of repeatedly shelling the plant grounds and city where it is situated, Enerhodar. They said drone strikes hit the plant’s administrative building and training center. Yevhen Yevtushenko, head of the administration in the Ukrainian-held city of Nikopol, across the Dnieper River from the plant, charged that the attacks were carried out by the Russians in a bid to make Ukraine look like the culprit. Kyiv is seeking international assistance in taking back control of the area. “We think that the mission should be a very important step to return (the plant) to Ukrainian government control by the end of the year,” Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC. All Rights Reserved. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Subscribe to Here's the Deal with Lisa Desjardins employees describe a regime of torture and abuse—and a growing threat of disaster William Keo / MagnumMarch 6, 2024 ShareSave Listen-1.0x+0:0020:17Produced by ElevenLabs and News Over Audio (Noa) using AI narration This article is based on interviews and research by the Reckoning Project a multinational group of journalists and lawyers collecting evidence of war crimes in Ukraine it has supplied electricity to millions of households more than 50,000 people lived in Enerhodar and nearly everyone in Enerhodar had some sort of connection to it it moved aggressively into the Zaporizhzhia region raising fears about the safety of the plant a Russian convoy advanced toward Enerhodar residents took to the streets in an attempt to stop Russian military vehicles and troops from entering The mayor tried to negotiate directly with the Russians A ZNPP worker said residents scrambled to find potassium-iodide pills in case the fighting unleashed a wave of radiation stolen the largest power plant on the continent A Russian soldier at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine (Magnum)Though the fighting at the plant had stopped but it had been reconfigured and modernized after the 2011 disaster at Fukushima Rosatom could not fully substitute its own technicians and staff All of the plant’s six reactors have now been shut down and the plant is not actively producing electricity but the reactors still need to be cooled around the clock to prevent them from releasing radioactive material a process that requires specialized technicians all with training in the specific parameters of the ZNPP These employees are pulling longer shifts with fewer days off Ukrainians who stayed on to work at the plant say they did so under duress. Employees report that Russian occupiers coerced them into adopting Russian citizenship and signing contracts with Rosatom. According to a recent IAEA report the plant has announced that workers still officially employed by Energoatom The workforce “now consists of former Energoatom employees who have adopted Russian citizenship and signed employment contracts with the Russian operating entity as well as staff who have been sent to the ZNPP from the Russian Federation.” have said that Russia brutalized the plant’s dwindling workforce resorting to torture to keep workers in line They also report that Russia is violating international law by using the plant as a military staging ground further increasing the risks to the facility This claim has been supported by satellite evidence But the agency has thus far been ineffectual in compelling Russia to cooperate and its authority does not extend to claims of human-rights abuses away from the plant Traces of shrapnel at the power plant (Magnum)Nets that are supposed to protect the power plant from drone attacks (Magnum)In their stories of working at the ZNPP after the Russian occupation began several sources describe incidents of detentions Kostiantyn Chebaievskyi worked at the ZNPP until August 2022 when he says he was arrested at the end of his shift and imprisoned by Russians Chebaievskyi says that he was accused of communicating with Ukrainian authorities and that interrogators beat him and tried to force him to make a false confession Other people employed at the ZNPP at the time say that cells intended to hold four to six people were used to detain up to 20 prisoners without any food save what their relatives were able to bring on visits Chebaievskyi says that one form of torture involved what his captors called “a phone call to Lenin.” According to Chebaievskyi the men would clip one cable to his earlobe and another to his finger and then interrogate him while they turned the crank on a modified field telephone that would deliver a shock “All that you see is white lighting.” Chebaievskyi said that the interrogators repeated the procedure over and over demanding to know his supposed contact in Ukraine He also reported that some prisoners were forced to give interviews for Russian television crews reciting prewritten scripts that were complimentary toward Russia Other ZNPP employees corroborate allegations of abuse and torture Volodymyr Zhaivoronok is a 50-year-old former equipment operator who says he was imprisoned for 53 days many of them in the same cell where Chebaievskyi ended up Zhaivoronok says Russian personnel beat the prisoners and another six people come there,” Zhaivoronok told me and my colleagues at the Reckoning Project pistols.” He recalled that the torture room was covered in blood Zhaivoronok said that during one of the sessions his torturers shot him in the side with a rubber bullet Zhaivoronok said he witnessed the death of Andrii Honcharuk who worked as a diver in the plant’s water tanks after which he fainted and his breathing stopped “We managed to scream loud enough to make them call an ambulance,” Zhaivoronok said The guards allowed medics to take Honcharuk to the hospital The Russians changed their interrogation methods after Honcharuk’s death I could still see bruises on her face and arms She had just fled 75 miles through Russian territory and worked at the ZNPP for the past five years (She asked that we withhold her real name and information about her job at the ZNPP because she fears for her safety.) After the Russian occupation she and other Ukrainian ZNPP personnel continued running the facility under the watch of armed Russian soldiers eight to 10 armed men suddenly broke into her house They wore bulletproof vests over civilian clothes She assumes that the men were with the FSB but she managed to work out that they were taking her to a local police station She said they beat her and asked her about the location of her partner She replied that she didn’t know where he was the hell you don’t know,” she heard the men say and that the men attached electrical cables to her ears: “‘I don’t know anything I don’t know anything!’ I screamed.” Kira said that the rag covering her eyes slipped and she saw that the torturers were beating her with a rolled-up ream of paper She recalled that they beat her over the head which resulted in a broken blood vessel in one eye She said that the men also shoved a gun in her mouth on the floor; they knocked me to the floor,” she said some kind of white cable.” She said another man stepped on her face I was told: ‘Now we’ll call the Chechens; they like girls like you.’” Kira said the men dialed a number and she heard a voice talking on the other end but I was imagining how I could commit suicide by hanging myself up on my trousers.” Russian soldiers inside the power plant (Magnum)In addition to these alleged human-rights abuses—and the stresses they placed on besieged employees—Russia and Rosatom have behaved in other ways that jeopardize the safety of the entire region. In previous Reckoning Project reporting in The Atlantic on Russia’s disastrous occupation of the inactive Chernobyl nuclear plant eyewitnesses insisted that Russian forces brought dangerous weapons and vehicles to the plant and operated the equipment in close proximity to nuclear materials The Russian forces appeared to be using the facility to stash military equipment apparently hoping that the Ukrainian forces would avoid a direct attack on the plant for fear of spreading radiation contamination—the Russians were using the Chernobyl plant as a “nuclear shield.” that used satellite imagery to identify signs of military activity in the vicinity of the plant An accident involving military equipment and ordnance could damage the systems needed to cool the reactors and could lead to a leak of radioactive material Grossi added that there had been seven occasions since the occupation began when the plant lost off-site power and had to rely on diesel generators “the last line of defence against a nuclear accident.” (The plant has since suffered another external power loss.) In that address Grossi asked that Russia abide by certain principles in its operation of the plant including refraining from using it for military weapon storage this situation illuminates the necessity of reforming international treaties to make attacks on nuclear power a global red line “Never in history have nuclear facilities been occupied by armed forces,” Plokhy told me He added that it is now clear that there is no leverage to force combatants to respect nuclear safety which could encourage recklessness in future conflicts “may lead to the destruction of the integrity of the fuel cells and to a radiation accident.” According to Kotin the only way to know if the fuel is still safe would be to conduct a special analysis—one that few employees remaining at the plant are qualified to do the risk of a military accident remains an urgent concern the director of nuclear-power safety at the U.S.-based nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists describes the current condition as an “uneasy status quo.” Lyman says that the biggest threat to the ZNPP now “is either deliberate sabotage or the plant being caught in an all-out battle,” which could cause substantial damage to multiple reactors and safety systems Lyman is skeptical of the possibility of a Chernobyl-style meltdown internally or as a result of a single explosion you would likely see a slower and probably smaller release that wouldn’t disperse as far,” Lyman told The Atlantic Because all of the reactors at the plant are shut down there is an “additional safety margin,” Lyman said: ZNPP employees would likely have days But if they struggle to respond adequately “then the progression of the accident is not going to be much different from what you saw at Fukushima.” In that worst-case outcome the area immediately surrounding the plant could become significantly contaminated Radiation could enter local waterways and affect people in communities across the south of Ukraine for years to come theorizing about the most likely nuclear disasters is beside the point He says that as long as the ZNPP is being used as a military base there will always be a likelihood of some kind of incident one that would be devastating to the people working and living in Enerhodar people who already bear the scars of war and occupation Additional reporting was provided by Angelina Kariakina BERLIN (AP) — Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has lost its last remaining external power source as a result of renewed shelling and is now relying on emergency diesel generators The International Atomic Energy Agency said the plant’s link to a 750-kilovolt line was cut at around 1 a.m It cited official information from Ukraine as well as reports from IAEA experts at the site All six reactors at the plant are shut down but they still require electricity for cooling and other safety functions Plant engineers have begun work to repair the damaged power line and the plant’s generators — not all of which are currently being used — each have sufficient fuel for at least 10 days hitting the plant’s sole source of external power is tremendously irresponsible,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said READ MORE: Russian missiles hit apartment block in Ukrainian city near nuclear plant, local leaders say to further his effort to set up a “nuclear safety and security protection zone” around the plant “This is an absolute and urgent imperative,” he said The IAEA didn’t apportion blame for the shelling Zaporizhzhia is one of four regions in Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin has annexed in violation of international laws While the nuclear plant has been under Russian control for months the city of the same name remains under Ukrainian control Putin signed a decree Wednesday declaring that Russia was taking over the plant Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called it a criminal act and said it considered Putin’s decree “null and void.” Ukraine’s state nuclear operator said it would continue to operate the plant © 1996 - 2025 NewsHour Productions LLC PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization The Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration announced this on its website “The Russian troops have left the city The control over all government bodies has been regained The head of the local government stays here,” the report says Enerhodar has been left without heating and hot water supply as the main heating pipeline was damaged as a result of fighting a fire broke out at Zaporizhzhia NPP after it was shelled by Russia’s heavy weapons the Russian occupiers fired at least 6 shots at the city of Enerhodar from 15:00 to 15:30 as the state enterprise Enerhoatom reported on Telegram Two more residents of Enerhodar were injured 42 countries called on russia to immediately withdraw its troops from the territory of the Zaporizhzhya NPP: “We urge the Russian Federation to immediately withdraw its military forces and all other unauthorised personnel from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and all of Ukraine so that the operator and the Ukrainian authorities can resume their sovereign responsibilities within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders and the legitimate operating staff can conduct their duties without outside interference This will also enable the IAEA to carry out its verification pursuant to Ukraine’s safeguards obligations under safe and secure conditions and in a timely manner” Read Ukraine-joint statement on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant [email protected] [email protected] FB: @uwcongress Ukrainian civilians blocked the road in a huge crowd to deny the Russian military access to Europe's largest nuclear power plant Drone footage shared Wednesday by the mayor of Enerhodar showed hundreds of people on a long stretch of road some behind barricades of sandbags and tires and some waving Ukrainian flags.   Enerhodar is home to Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant where Russian forces have made their most successful advances The International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that Russia claimed in a March 1 letter to be in control of the region around the plant Ukrainian officials had said that the facilities themselves remained in Ukrainian hands local civilians created a barricade on the route to their city "This is how Enerhodar — its civilians — women and men defend their city," Orlov wrote Wednesday.  The scene is one of many striking examples of unarmed Ukrainians standing up to Russian advances across the country reposted an image from the video on Thursday Russian soldiers and representatives of the plant met on Wednesday for negotiations he asked residents of the city to return home but early on Thursday asked them to be ready to block the road again saying that a column of military vehicles was again approaching Concerns for Ukraine's nuclear properties were heightened on February 25 when Russian forces captured Chernobyl Enerhodar, however, is an active plant. Anton Geraschenko, an advisor to Ukraine's Interior Ministry, framed the risk in a Facebook post Wednesday as putting Europe "on the brink of a NUCLEAR DISASTER!" On February 26, an official from Ukraine's interior ministry told Reuters that Russian forces had aimed rockets at the site Geraschenko wrote in his post: "They will not be able to penetrate the concrete shell of the reactor turbines and other equipment necessary for the safety of the nuclear power plant "An accident may occur as at the Chernobyl NPP [nuclear power plant] or Fukushima NPP." An elite Chechen military unit has been deployed as a police force in the occupied Ukrainian nuclear city of Enerhodar, Al Jazeera reported Wednesday citing interviews with engineers who fled the town and its remaining residents which hosts the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the early days of its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine a special forces company loyal to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov carries out police functions in Enerhodar in weeks-long shifts patrolling the city in Russian-made UAZ “Patriot” SUVs.  who make up one-fifth of the occupying forces in Enerhodar enjoy a “higher status” and “do not mingle professionally or socially” with other Russian troops a higher caste of sorts,” said one of two anonymous engineers who fled Enerhodar in late May Akhmat troops reportedly search residents’ smartphones to see if they have made donations to the Ukrainian military ask about relatives serving in the Ukrainian armed forces If the passport is Ukrainian — everything has to be turned upside down” in the resident’s home Al Jazeera notes that Akhmat troops do not appear to be involved in the decision-making process at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant or the torture of Enerhodar’s residents Torture and interrogations in Enerhodar are “mostly” performed by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) agents National Guard officers of Slavic origin and collaborationist police officers estimated at less than half of the pre-war population of 51,000 mockingly call Akhmat “Ahmad Tea” in reference to a British tea brand popular in the Russian-speaking world Akhmat has been deployed in Enerhodar since at least January, the outlet said, citing a verified video obtained from a Ukrainian law enforcement agency and a state media report featuring the fighters At least one Akhmat soldier — a rare member of non-Chechen ethnicity — was alleged to be involved in the beating and castrating of a Ukrainian soldier last year We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. 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Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Gareth Jones and David Ljunggren; Editing by Hugh Lawson The Special Forces of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine tried three times to liberate Enerhodar and Zaporizhzhia NPP, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said in an interview with NV The Ukrainian military tried to land on the left bank of the Dnipro River to create a bridgehead for the liberation of the occupied Enerhodar and the ZNPP The first attempt was made last year in August The special forces crossed the then full-water Kakhovka reservoir on high-speed boats in the Enerhodar area the military managed to retreat due to insufficient artillery support the reconnaissance team tried to land on the left bank twice more Several hundred people participated in the last attempt The operation failed due to “management and executive deficiencies,” Budanov explained “As the intelligence gained experience from landing to landing the Russians in this area became more and more prepared And at the moment of the third amphibious operation to the very shore,” the NV report says The skills that Ukrainian special forces gained during the “Enerhodar operation” helped the military during the landing in Crimea in August 2023 The Ukrainian World Congress also calls on the international community to strongly condemn Russia for its nuclear terrorism and impose harsh sanctions on it [email protected] [email protected] Russia said on Saturday that a Ukrainian attack on a nuclear power plant substation in southeastern Ukraine had disrupted the plant’s infrastructure facilities, warning against any more attacks. A statement by the Russian-installed management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant said the damage caused by the attack on the Raduga substation, located in the city of Enerhodar, disrupted the normal functioning of its facilities, including the plant's transport department and printing house, which it said were left without power. “A repeated attack on key infrastructure facilities of Enerhodar poses a threat to the life support of the city,” the statement added, warning that such acts could impact the plant’s safety. A day earlier, Eduard Senovoz, the Russian-installed mayor of Enerhodar, said on Telegram that a drone attack partially damaged the Raduga substation, the second substation in the city after the Luch substation, which was destroyed in a drone attack on Wednesday. “The main part of the city is now without electricity and water. Specialists are working to address the consequences (of the attack),” Senovoz added, later writing on Saturday that power supply to the city has been restored after repair work on the damaged transformer was completed. In a statement on Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also confirmed the Luch substation’s destruction, indicating that power supplies to the plant were not directly affected, as the plant does not receive off-site power from either substation. “Any attack affecting the power supplies to any of Ukraine’s NPPs (nuclear power plants) would be a violation of the seven indispensable pillars for ensuring nuclear safety and security during the conflict,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in the statement, underlining the need for a "reliable external power supply from the grid for all nuclear facilities.” "The damaged sustained by the Luch sub-station had a direct impact on plant staff who live in Enerhodar, immediately adjacent to the plant, and therefore also an impact on nuclear safety and security. It is therefore essential that energy infrastructure be protected and preserved at all times," Grossi added. Ukrainian authorities have not yet commented on the incident, and independent verification of Russia’s claim is difficult due to the ongoing war. Zaporizhzhia, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and one of the world’s 10 biggest, and the city of Enerhodar have been under Russian control since March 2022, soon after the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Since then, fears of a nuclear catastrophe persist as both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling near the plant.​​​​​​​ Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Felix Hoske; editing by Timothy Heritage the satellite city of the Zaporizhzhia plant Workers at the plant put their life on the line to protect the plant's nuclear safety but Russian occupation troops keep on abusing them (Illustration: Karolina Gulshani)Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Independent talked to residents who are still in Russian-occupied Enerhodar and those who recently left but still have family in the city the satellite city of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in early March one of roughly 50,000 residents of the city "It was horrible to see them in the streets they behaved," she recalled in a conversation with the Kyiv Independent in September Then the mass abductions and tortures began "They torture both men and women," Anastasiia said "They interrogate them and beat them up." says the city has turned into a living hell She is friends with the nuclear plant workers and active citizens who participated in anti-occupation rallies She says that those detained by Russian soldiers return from captivity “barely able to stand.” Some don't return at all "Taking your health is the minimum sentence (Russians give you) taking your life is the maximum," Anastasiia said Abductions and torture make it close to impossible for employees to work properly at the local nuclear plant – the biggest one in Europe – that has been a major component of Russia’s nuclear blackmail Workers at the plant put their life on the line to avoid a nuclear catastrophe according to residents the Kyiv Independent spoke to Some estimate that roughly half of Enerhodar's 50,000 residents left after Russia captured the city on March 4 The remaining residents live in fear of persecution by Russian soldiers and some of them are returned for a ransom," said Anastasiia who remains in Enerhodar to be with her family a provincial city where nearly a quarter of the population works at the nuclear power plant the average salary in the region reached $600 a month So when someone gets detained by Russian soldiers It's unclear to Anastasiia why the Russians persecute the locals they take people to basements and take everything they want from the apartment and then accuse these people of collaborating with the SBU (Ukraine's Security Service)," she said Those working at or near the nuclear plant often become victims of Russian soldiers' torture and abuse Russians force them to continue to work without pay "Now they take people directly from the nuclear plant and throw them into basements," he said a diver at the plant's spent fuel pool was beaten to death on June 29 because he refused to dive into the pools to check "if Ukrainian partisans had hidden weapons there." He died after three days in a coma "It's simply unimaginable," Orlov said of Russian troops’ violence against the nuclear plant employees The head of the nuclear power plant Ihor Murashov was luckier being pulled into a car in broad daylight – and was released four days later witnessed Russians abducting locals in early July They didn't even try to hide it," he said he was still in a basement somewhere." Andrii’s family and friends remain in the city Anastasiia had to be extremely cautious in communicating with the Kyiv Independent Russian soldiers walk among locals dressed as civilians to spy on them "They walk around the city in disguise listening to what people say," she said She said she never takes her phone with her when she goes out "God forbid they take it to check (what's on it)!" The sham referendums that Russia conducted on Sept 23-27 in the occupied Ukrainian territories made residents’ life even worse They pointed a machine gun at them and showed where to put a tick.” Abuses and the resulting stress of nuclear plant workers increases the risk of a nuclear disaster according to the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "Ukrainian staff operating the plant under Russian military occupation are under constant high stress and pressure especially with the limited staff available," an IAEA report published on Sept "This is not sustainable and could lead to increased human error with implications for nuclear safety." Faltering maintenance could lead to the loss of cooling capacities culminating in a meltdown of fuel inside an overheated reactor or cooling ponds for spent fuel rods — a scenario similar to the Fukushima disaster in 2011 Read also: Occupied Ukrainian plant becomes epicenter of Russia's nuclear blackmail Even the spent fuel would spew radioactive particles hundreds of kilometers from the reactor site across southern Ukraine and Russia This is why some workers chose to stay despite the risks "Someone needs to maintain the service at the plant," she said While there are different groups of troops in Enerhodar the ones in charge of the nuclear plant are reportedly Russian soldiers from the regular army State nuclear agency Energoatom and residents say that both the troops from the regular Russian army and the Kremlin's proxies in Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are participating in the persecution of locals in Enerhodar Members of Russia's National Guard (Rosgvardia in Russian) were also spotted in the city All these groups seem to act separately and don’t communicate with each other much Anastasiia believes that representatives of the FSB the first batch of Russians that arrived in Enerhodar in March wasn't committing atrocities on a massive scale and security service officers came – that’s when the situation got much worse The rotation was initiated by the Russian commanders for several reasons Russian soldiers were "getting used" to the local population and showing compassion to the locals looting got worse with every new rotation as soldiers who left the city broke into the apartments of evacuated people and stole their belongings The Russian garrison in Enerhodar is a motley crew of soldiers from at least eight Russian units from all across Russia according to the findings of the Ukrainian open-source intelligence (OSINT) research group Molfar about 500 military personnel were stationed in the city alongside anti-aircraft systems and armored vehicles one identified soldier belonged to unit 3274 of the 94th division of Russia’s Interior Ministry The 3473 unit includes soldiers who fought in Russia’s war in Chechnya in the early 2000s Another serviceman is known to belong to the 3662 unit of the 127th Specialized Motorized Regiment and comes from Sochi there were reports that the commander of the 9332 unit stationed in Enerhodar is Colonel Vadim Klimenko who officially heads the 7th military base His wife and daughter allegedly live in Ukraine According to Ukrainian media StopCor the head of the 3424 unit of Russia’s National Guard from Dzerzhinsk allegedly took part in the plant’s shelling in March Sergei Dovgan, the commander of the 3377 unit from Zheleznogorsk, a town in Siberia, also allegedly took part in the plant’s shelling, according to Ukrainian media outlet Censor.net. The unit is part of the 556th National Guard’s Regiment commander of the 3642 unit from Kalach-na-Donu a major and a commander of a separate battalion the 6913 unit of the Russian National Guard troops in Dagestan Russian troops in the city are led by Russian Major General Valery Vasiliev Vasiliev ordered to disperse a rally against the Russian occupation that locals held on April 2 who had allegedly led the assault to capture the city in March The Russian Defense Ministry denied the information about Vasiliev’s participation in the war and claimed that a city of 100,000 people across the Dnipro River Russian forces increased the shelling of Nikopol including from the territory of the nuclear plant in Enerhodar U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly called for Russian military equipment to be withdrawn from the plant's territory Controlling the city doesn't prevent Russians from shelling Enerhodar and its surroundings to blame Ukraine but I can see them shelling the city with mortars "Our friends and relatives told us that the Russian troops were not even hiding when they shelled (Enerhodar)," Andrii added leaving the residents without light and electricity Some of the city's districts still face frequent blackouts Orlov said some areas in Enerhodar are on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe The same neighborhoods have been left without gas for several months Constant shelling adds "enormous pressure" on residents and employees of the plant who already face hardship and they can be targeted right at their workplace," she said Andrii's parents stayed behind to look after their small hardware store "My parents are preparing for winter and repairing the stove in my grandparents' house because there will be no heating there," he said "But they are also thinking of leaving." Anastasia is also faced with a tough choice She doesn’t want to leave her parents alone in the city "I don't know if tomorrow is gonna come – but hope dies last We are waiting for a miracle and believe in Ukraine’s Armed Forces.” Two locals discuss on a bench behind damaged vehicles in Enerhodar a Ukrainian open-source intelligence (OSINT) group contributed to this report by identifying the Russian units and commanders who are the alleged perpetrators of Russia’s war crimes in occupied Enerhodar Hello, I'm Alexander Query, the author of this story. Enerhodar’s residents took a considerable risk talking to us, as the Russians regularly check their phones – and the wrong call can land locals in a basement, if not worse. At the Kyiv Independent, we try to bring you the voices of people like this with every security precaution. Consider supporting us for more about life under Russia’s occupation Alexander Query is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent He is the former business editor at the Kyiv Post He worked as a TV correspondent and an anchorman at UATV in Ukraine and received a BA in modern literature from La Sorbonne Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces pressed their attack on a crucial energy-producing city by shelling Europe’s largest nuclear plant early Friday sparking a fire and raising fears that radiation could leak from the damaged power station Plant spokesman Andriy Tuz told Ukrainian television that shells were falling directly on the Zaporizhzhia plant in the city of Enerhodar and had set fire to one of the facility’s six reactors That reactor is under renovation and not operating A government official told The Associated Press that elevated levels of radiation were detected near the plant which provides about 25 percent of Ukraine’s power generation The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the information has not yet been publicly released Tuz said firefighters cannot get near the flames because they are being shot at Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted a plea to the Russians to stop the assault and allow fire teams inside “We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire,” Tuz said in a video statement “There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe.” READ MORE: How to help people in Ukraine and refugees fleeing the conflict with Russia The attack renewed fears that the invasion could result in damage to one of Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors and trigger another emergency like the 1986 Chernobyl accident which happened about 110 kilometers (65 miles) north of the capital The mayor of Enerhodar said earlier that Ukrainian forces were battling Russian troops on the city’s outskirts Video showed flames and black smoke rising above the city of more than 50,000 atomic watchdog agency expressed grave concern that the fighting could cause accidental damage to Ukraine’s 15 nuclear reactors The Ukrainian state atomic energy company reported that a Russian military column was heading toward the nuclear plant Loud shots and rocket fire were heard late Thursday “Many young men in athletic clothes and armed with Kalashnikovs have come into the city They are breaking down doors and trying to get into the apartments of local residents,” the statement from Energoatom said a live streamed security camera linked from the homepage of the Zaporizhzhia plant showed what appeared to be armored vehicles rolling into the facility’s parking lot and shining spotlights on the building where the camera was mounted There were then what appeared to be bright muzzle flashes from vehicles followed by nearly simultaneous explosions in the surrounding buildings Smoke then rose into the frame and drifted away The fighting at Enerhodar came as another round of talks between the two sides yielded a tentative agreement to set up safe corridors inside Ukraine to evacuate citizens and deliver humanitarian aid Russian forces gained ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea as Ukrainian leaders called on citizens to rise up and wage guerrilla war against the invaders While the huge Russian armored column threatening Kyiv appeared bogged down outside the capital Vladimir Putin’s forces have brought their superior firepower to bear over the past few days launching hundreds of missiles and artillery attacks on cities and other sites around the country and making significant gains in the south READ MORE: U.N. says 1 million refugees have left Ukraine in last 7 days Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called on the West to close the skies over the country’s nuclear plants as fighting intensified “It is a question of the security of the whole world!” he said in a statement and NATO allies have ruled out creating a no-fly zone since the move would pit Russian and Western military forces against each other The Russians announced the capture of the southern city of Kherson, a vital Black Sea port of 280,000, and local Ukrainian officials confirmed the takeover of the government headquarters there, making it the first major city to fall since the invasion began a week ago Heavy fighting continued on the outskirts of another strategic port The battles have knocked out the city’s electricity Associated Press video from the port city shows the assault lighting up the darkening sky above largely deserted streets and medical teams treating civilians including one inside a clinic who appeared to be a child Severing Ukraine’s access to the Black and Azov seas would deal a crippling blow to its economy and allow Russia to build a land corridor to Crimea outgunned Ukrainians have put up stiff resistance staving off the swift victory that Russia appeared to have expected said Russia’s seizure of Crimea gave it a logistical advantage in that part of the country with shorter supply lines that smoothed the offensive there Ukrainian leaders called on the people to defend their homeland by cutting down trees erecting barricades in the cities and attacking enemy columns from the rear authorities have issued weapons to civilians and taught them how to make Molotov cocktails and this is what we can do best in the world,” Oleksiy Arestovich an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recalling guerrilla actions in Nazi-occupied Ukraine during World War II The second round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations was held in neighboring Belarus But the two sides appeared far apart going into the meeting and Putin warned Ukraine that it must quickly accept the Kremlin’s demand for its “demilitarization” and declare itself neutral Putin told French President Emmanuel Macron he was determined to press on with his attack “until the end,” according to Macron’s office The two sides said that they tentatively agreed to allow cease-fires in areas designated safe corridors and that they would seek to work out the necessary details quickly A Zelensky adviser also said a third round of talks will be held early next week Despite a profusion of evidence of civilian casualties and destruction of property by the Russian military Putin decried what he called an “anti-Russian disinformation campaign” and insisted that Moscow uses “only precision weapons to exclusively destroy military infrastructure.” Putin claimed that the Russian military had already offered safe corridors for civilians to flee but he asserted without evidence that Ukrainian “neo-Nazis” were preventing people from leaving and were using them as human shields He also hailed Russian soldiers as heroes in a video call with members of Russia’s Security Council and ordered additional payments to families of men killed or wounded was killed in the fighting earlier this week an officers organization in Russia reported WATCH: Russian forces bombard targets across Ukraine as official warns ‘worst is yet to come’ The Pentagon set up a direct communication link to Russia’s Ministry of Defense earlier this week to avoid the possibility of a miscalculation sparking conflict between Moscow and Washington, according to a U.S. defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the link had not been announced. The fighting has sent more than 1 million people fleeing Ukraine, according to the U.N., which fears those refugee numbers could skyrocket. Ukrainians still in the country faced another grim day. In Kyiv, snow gave way to a cold, gray drizzle, as long lines formed outside the few pharmacies and bakeries that remained open. More shelling was reported in the northern city of Chernihiv, where emergency officials said at least 33 civilians had been killed in the bombardment of a residential area. milies with children fled via muddy and snowy roads in the eastern region of Donetsk, while military strikes on the village of Yakovlivka destroyed 30 homes, leaving three people dead, authorities said. In Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, with about 1.4 million people, residents desperate to escape the bombings crowded the railroad station and squeezed onto trains, not always knowing where they were headed. In the south, Russian troops appeared to roll from Kherson toward Mykolaiv, another major Black Sea port and shipbuilding center to the west. A U.S. defense official said the Russians may want to set up a base in Mykolaiv ahead of a ground offensive against Odesa, Ukraine’s largest port city, which is also home to a large naval base. The immense Russian column of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles still appeared to be stalled roughly 25 kilometers (16 miles) from Kyiv and had made no real progress in days, amid fuel and food shortages, according to U.S. authorities. Sergei Grits in Odesa, Ukraine; Francesca Ebel, Josef Federman and Andrew Drake in Kyiv; Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Lynn Berry, Robert Burns and Eric Tucker in Washington; Edith M. Lederer and Jennifer Peltz at the United Nations; and other AP journalists from around the world contributed to this report. By Nicole Winfield, Mike Corder, Associated Press , opens new tab.Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for shelling near Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine and within the perimeter of Europe's biggest nuclear power plant which has six reactors."This is completely unacceptable It cannot stand," Grossi said."I therefore urgently call for the immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area Only this will ensure the safety and security of operating staff and allow the durable restoration of power to Enerhodar and to the power plant."Grossi this week called for the creation of a "nuclear safety and security protection zone" around Zaporizhzhia repeating his call on Friday.Zaporizhzhia's operator is not confident that off-site power can be restored and that is prompting it to consider shutting down the last operating reactor Grossi said."The entire power plant would then be fully reliant on emergency diesel generators for ensuring vital nuclear safety and security functions the operator would not be able to re-start the reactors unless offsite power was reliably re-established," he added.Russia said it backed Grossi's call."We fully support the appeal and demand of the #IAEA Director General that shelling of the town of Enerhodar and the #ZNPP must stop immediately," its ambassador to the IAEA Mikhail Ulyanov said on Twitter.loadingReporting by Francois Murphy; editing by John Stonestreet We fully support the appeal and demand of the #IAEA Director General that shelling of the town of Enerhodar and the #ZNPP must stop immediately. https://t.co/L3dUs3QUpg What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed.