Ukraine: Fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant extinguished, fighting stops

Ukrainian officials on Friday claimed that the fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which erupted after Russian troops shelled the complex has been extinguished and the fighting in the area also stoppedDmytro Orlov the Mayor of Energodar city which is about 120 km from Zaporizhzhia told a local broadcaster that the fighting has stopped near the plant site after several hours of continuous enemy shelling of the plants buildings and units the BBC reportedIn a statement the countrys State Emergency Services said that at about 620 am the fire in the training building was extinguished adding that there are no victimsAccording to the Services the fire was reported on the third fourth and fifth floor of the buildingFollowing initial hindrance from Russian troops the fire responders finally entered the affected area at about 520 amShortly after the fire broke out at the largest nuclear plant in Europe President Volodymyr Zelensky urged leaders across the continent to wake up and take immediate action against RussiaIn a video posted on Twitter the President said that the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe is on fire right now and accused Russian troops of deliberately shooting at the plants six reactors using tanks equipped with thermal imaging reports the BBCInvoking the global catastrophe at Chernobyl in 1986 he warned the consequences of a meltdown at Zaporizhzhia would be far worseEarlier on Friday Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba had warned that if the nuclear plant blew up as a result of the fire then the catastrophe would be 10 times larger than the Chernobyl disasterFridays development which comes on the ninth day of Russias invasion of Ukraine has received widespread condemnationDuring a phone call with Zelensky UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the reckless actions of President Vladimir Putin could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe reports the BBCJohnson said that the UK would do everything it could to ensure the situation did not deteriorate further adding that he was also seeking an emergency UN Security Council meeting and his country would raise the issue immediately with Russia and close partnersMeanwhile US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm called the incident reckless and announced her decision to activate the countrys Nuclear Incident Response TeamCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for the unacceptable attacks by Russia must cease immediatelyUkraine currently has four active nuclear plants including Zaporizhzhia which reportedly accounts for some 25 per cent of the countrys power the BBC reportedIt also deals with nuclear waste at sites like Chernobyl which is now under Russian controlThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever