Ukraine accuses Russia of 'nuclear terrorism' after missile strike near plant

Attack reignites fears that Moscow’s nearly seven-month war in Ukraine might cause a radiation disaster

Windows were blown out at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant after Russian rockets landed within 300 metres of the building. AP

A Russian strike hit targets close to a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Monday, damaging nearby industrial equipment but not hitting its three reactors.

Ukrainian authorities denounced the move as an act of “nuclear terrorism”.

The missile struck 300 metres from the reactors at the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant near the city of Yuzhnoukrainsk in Mykolaiv province, leaving a hole two metres deep and four metres wide, Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom said.

The reactors were operating normally and no employees were injured, it said.

However, the proximity of the strike renewed concerns that Russia’s nearly seven-month-long war in Ukraine might lead to a radiation disaster.

The nuclear power station is Ukraine’s second-largest after the Zaporizhzhia plant, which has repeatedly come under fire.

After recent setbacks on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened last week to step up Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure.

Zaporizhzhia latest — in pictures

Jeffrey DeLaurentis, US ambassador for special political affairs, speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Getty Images / AFP

Russian Ambassador to the UN Vasily Nebenzya speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Getty Images / AFP

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was told by the International Atomic Energy Agency that inspectors on the ground were 'gravely concerned' after finding damage caused to buildings at the plant. Getty Images / AFP

Members of the UN Security Council attend a meeting on Tuesday. Getty Images / AFP

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to reporters as the agency prepares to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. AP

Mr Grossi and 13 of his colleagues inspected the plant that is on the front line of the Russian war in Ukraine. Getty Images

Refugees from eastern Ukraine receive humanitarian aid at a distribution point in Zaporizhzhia. AP

Refugees from eastern Ukraine receive humanitarian aid. AP

A Russian serviceman guards an area of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. AP

Girls play as a woman distributes iodine tablets to residents at a local school in case of a radiation leak in Zaporizhzhia. AP

A woman and her daughter stand in front of their house in the village of Zorya, located about 20 kilometres from the nuclear power plant. AP

A pack of iodine tablets being distributed at a local school in case of a radiation leak in Zaporizhzhia. AP

Residents in the village of Zorya say that it's not the shelling that scares them most but the risk of a leak in the plant. AP

Heavy fighting continues near Europe's largest nuclear power plant. AP

People wait for their turn to get iodine tablets in Zaporizhzhia. AP

Broken windows at a building at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant. Reuters

A motorcade carrying members of the IAEA leaves after inspecting the plant. AP

Agency team members inspect the Zaporizhzhia plant. AP

A general view of a crater left by a Russian missile strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Reuters

During several hours of work at the Zaporizhzhia plant, the IAEA mission received key information about the situation at the nuclear power plant from personnel. EPA

A picture taken during a visit organised by the Russian military shows international journalists around a drone near Zaporizhzhia. EPA

A missile outside the Zaporizhzhia plant. EPA

A view of the Ukrainian plant. EPA

A picture taken during a visit organised by the Russian military shows Russian servicemen on guard at the plant. EPA

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi and agency members inspect the Zaporizhzhia plant. EPA

A Ukrainian serviceman with a bomb-sniffing dog checks a motorcade transporting part of the IAEA mission. Reuters

Mr Grossi speaks with journalists after he and a part of the IAEA mission returned from inspections. Reuters

A Russian military convoy is seen in May on the road towards the Zaporizhzhia plant. AP

Throughout the war, Russia has launched strikes on Ukraine’s electricity generation and transmission equipment, causing power cuts and endangering the safety systems of the country’s nuclear power plants.

The industrial complex that includes the plant sits along the Southern Bug river about 300 kilometres south of the capital, Kyiv.

The attack caused the temporary shutdown of a nearby hydroelectric power plant and shattered more than 100 windows at the complex, Ukrainian authorities said.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said three power lines were knocked offline but later reconnected.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant attacked — in pictures

A bright flaring object lands near the nuclear plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine. AP

Russian forces shelled Europe’s largest nuclear plant early on Friday. AP

Surveillance camera footage shows a flare landing at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Reuters

The flare lands at the plant. Reuters

Multiple blasts at the plant were recorded. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy makes a statement following the attack. Reuters

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar, Ukraine, on September 2, 2019. AP

A power-generating unit at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. AP Photo

Ukraine’s Defence Ministry released a black-and-white video showing two large fireballs erupting one after the other in the dark, followed by incandescent showers of sparks, shortly after midnight.

The Russian Defence Ministry did not immediately comment on the attack.

Russian forces have occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, since the early days of the invasion.

Shelling has cut off the plant’s transmission lines, forcing operators to shut down its six reactors to avoid a radiation disaster.

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the strikes.

The IAEA, which has stationed monitors at the Zaporizhzhia plant, said a main transmission line was reconnected on Friday, providing the electricity it needs to cool its reactors.

But the mayor of Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhzhia plant is located, reported more Russian shelling on Monday in the city’s industrial zone.

While warning on Friday of a possible ramp-up of strikes, Mr Putin claimed his forces had so far acted with restraint but warned “if the situation develops this way, our response will be more serious”.

“Just recently, the Russian armed forces have delivered a couple of impactful strikes,” he said.

“Let’s consider those as warning strikes.”

The latest Russian shelling killed at least eight civilians and wounded 22, Ukraine’s presidential office said on Monday.

The governor of the north-eastern Kharkiv region, now largely back in Ukrainian hands, said Russian shelling killed four medical workers trying to evacuate patients from a psychiatric hospital and wounded two patients.

The mayor of the Russian-occupied eastern city of Donetsk, meanwhile, said Ukrainian shelling had killed 13 civilians and wounded eight.

IAEA issues warning over military activity near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant — video

Patricia Lewis, the international security research director at the Chatham House think tank in London, said attacks at the Zaporizhzhia plant and Monday’s strike on the South Ukraine plant indicated that the Russian military was attempting to knock Ukrainian nuclear plants offline before winter.

“It’s a very, very dangerous and illegal act to be targeting a nuclear station,” Ms Lewis told The Associated Press.

“Only the generals will know the intent, but there’s clearly a pattern.

“What they seem to be doing each time is to try to cut off the power to the reactor.

“It’s a very clumsy way to do it, because how accurate are these missiles?”

Power is needed to run pumps that circulate cooling water to the reactors, preventing overheating and — in a worst-case scenario — a radiation-spewing nuclear fuel meltdown.

Other recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure have been made against power plants in the north and a dam in the south.

They came in response to a sweeping Ukrainian counter-offensive in the country’s east that reclaimed Russian-occupied territory in the Kharkiv region.

Ukraine war latest — in pictures

Ukrainian firefighters at a thermal power plant damaged by a Russian missile strike, in Kharkiv. Reuters

Rescuers in Kharkiv extinguish a fire after a rocket strike. EPA

Ukrainian soldiers and local officials are greeted by residents with hugs and handshakes in the village of Kozacha. Reuters

The charred remains of a Russian tank in territory retaken by Ukraine in the Kharkiv region. AP

Half-submerged Russian tanks amid the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kharkiv. AFP

A Russian poster is pulled from a billboard to reveal a poem by Ukrainian Taras Shevchenko in Balakliia, Kharkiv. Reuters

Ukrainian troops in the recently retaken settlement of Vasylenkove. Reuters

Charred armoured cars litter the road in Balakliia. AFP

A burnt-out tank in Kharkiv region. AFP

Ukrainian flags are placed on statues in a square in Balakliia. AFP

Shell holes pepper the Misto entertainment complex in Kharkiv. EPA

Fixing windows in the damaged Misto complex. EPA

Analysts have noted that beyond recapturing territory, challenges remain in holding it.

In a video address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy said cryptically of that effort: “I cannot reveal all the details, but thanks to the security service of Ukraine, we are now confident that the occupiers will not have any foothold on Ukrainian soil.”

The Ukrainian successes in Kharkiv — Russia’s biggest defeat since its forces were repelled from around Kyiv in the invasion’s opening stage — have fuelled rare public criticism in Russia and added to the military and diplomatic pressure on Mr Putin.

The Kremlin’s nationalist critics have questioned why Moscow has failed to plunge Ukraine into darkness yet by hitting all of its major nuclear power plants.