Russian shelling of nuclear power plant continues: Ukraine

Zaporizhizhia, Aug 29:The world's attention remained focused on the fate of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant set uncomfortably on the front lines between Russian invaders and Ukrainian defenders.

 

 

 

Fears remained high about the state of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. Both sides have said it is at risk of a nuclear disaster because of the other side's attacks. Both deny taking action against the facility, and it is not possible to immediately verify information from either side, dpa news agency reported.

 

 

 

Russian forces occupying the plant said on Sunday that they had to shoot down an armed drone sent by the Ukrainians.

It fell on a safety cover spanning the reactor after it was shot down, according to reports carried in Russian media. The explosives it was carrying were detonated without causing any harm. Independent confirmation of the report was not immediately possible. Russia said the drone was on its way to attack a storage area for spent fuel rods. Several projectiles also hit the nearby city of Enerhodar, with Russia and Ukraine blaming each other for the artillery fire. Vladimir Rogov, of the occupying Russian administration, said seven people were injured and accused Ukraine of trying to prevent a visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Enerhodar's Ukrainian mayor Dmytro Orlov, who has fled the area, said it was a provocation and that Russian troops were behind it. Moscow said earlier that attacks in the past day had seen one shell hit near reactor number six, the other at a pumping station that provides cooling. No increase in radiation levels at the plant has been recorded following the recent shelling, authorities in Kyiv and Moscow said on Sunday. For weeks, both sides have accused each other of shelling the sprawling complex, raising the specter of disaster at Europe's biggest nuclear plant. After the nuclear plant was temporarily disconnected from Ukraine's power grid on Thursday following an emergency shutdown, two units are back online, according to Ukrainian state nuclear operator Enerhoatom. The Russian military also confirmed an attack on the city of Zaporizhzhya, which sits across the Dnipro River, using "high-precision weapons."

 

Also Read: Don't use your airspace against us: Taliban warns Pakistan 

 

A hall where Ukrainian air force helicopters were repaired was hit, the ministry said. The Ukrainian army said in its evening report that dozens of Ukrainian communities along the 2,000-km long front were fired on by Russian tanks.

They said new Russian offensives were fought off in the east, including in the village of Vesela Dolyna and the city of Bakhmut, which are the sites of weeks-long stand-offs.