Steph Deschamps / September 19, 2022
The Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom accused Russia on Monday of having bombed the site of the Pivdennonooukraïnsk nuclear power plant in the south of the country, raising fears of another nuclear incident.
"On September 19, 2022, at 00:20 local time (23:20 BST on Sunday), the Russian military shelled the industrial zone of the Pivdennonooukraïnsk nuclear power plant," Energoatom said on Telegram.
"A powerful explosion occurred only 300 meters from the reactors," it said. "Currently, the three reactors of the plant are operating in regular regime," the state-owned operator assured that the bombing did not cause any deaths or injuries.
The strike blew out about 100 windows in the plant building and caused a brief disconnection of three high-voltage lines at the plant, according to the same source. "Russia is endangering the whole world. We must stop it while it is not too late," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted on Telegram, which showed a black-and-white surveillance video of a large explosion.
Another Ukrainian nuclear power plant, that of Zaporijjia, the largest in Europe and occupied by Russian troops, had already been targeted by bombings in recent months causing great concern in the West. Kiev and Moscow have blamed each other for these strikes and have accused each other of risking a nuclear incident.