Fire out as Russia seizes Europe’s largest nuclear plant

A fire is out at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as Russian forces have taken control of Europe’s largest nuclear site. 

Officials said Friday the fire that started in the training center of the facility has been extinguished, with Russian troops taking over after an intense day of fighting, Reuters reported. 

“Personnel are on their working places providing normal operation of the station,” an official told the news outlet.

The fire and damage that occurred were believed to be started by a Russian projectile, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said. 

The official told Reuters he has no control over the potential radiation issues from the plant, no communication with the plant’s managers or any oversight after the Russian seizure.

Russia is falsely blaming Ukraine for the fire at the facility and also said the site is running normally, according to Reuters.

It is the second nuclear win for Russia during the fighting after forces seized the old Chernobyl nuclear plant at the beginning of the invasion.  

Zaporizhzhia only has one reactor working around 60 percent capacity currently, Reuters noted.

Ukraine has one of the world’s largest nuclear fleets that includes four power plants and 15 reactors that provide about half of the country’s power. The country, however, houses no nuclear weapons.