Fire Breaks Out at Nuclear Power Plant as Ukraine Invades Russia

Ukrainian and Russian leaders blamed one another after a fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant; the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which has been occupied by the Russian military since March 2022.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency, said in a statement its experts at the Zaporizhzhia plant saw “thick dark smoke coming from the north-western area of the plant, after hearing multiple explosions throughout the evening.”

Operators at the plant told the IAEA that the fire was started after a drone strike hit one of the plant’s two cooling towers.

Read more at The Daily Beast.