KIEV: Ukraine and Russia exchanged accusations on Sunday blaming each other for a new strike on the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant, where recent fighting sparked a UN warning of a potential nuclear disaster.
One of the biggest nuclear power plants in Europe, Zaporizhzhia produces a quarter of all the electricity used in Ukraine. According to the Xinhua news, it has been under the hands of Russian soldiers since March and has recently been the target of military operations.
Operator of nuclear power in Ukraine The region near to the station's dry storage facility, where 174 containers containing spent nuclear fuel were stored outdoors, was damaged by the recent rocket attacks on Saturday, according to Energoatom, which on Sunday accused Russian forces of attacking the power plant.
Three radiation monitoring detectors located around the facility were reportedly destroyed, making it impossible to effectively monitor the radiation status there, according to Energoatom.
The management of Energodar city, which is home to the nuclear power plant, reportedly blamed the Ukrainian army for the overnight strikes on Sunday, as per reports.
The city said that on Saturday night, Ukrainian troops used the 220-mm Uragan multiple launch rocket system to attack the factory. The location of the spent nuclear fuel storage facility was impacted. It added that the sub-munitions and the rocket engine fell within 400 meters of the operating power unit.
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