UN watchdog says no radiation released in attack on Ukraine nuclear plant

A United Nations watchdog said Friday that no radiation was released in the attack on a Ukrainian nuclear plant in Enerhoder, a city on the Dnipro River.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the fire that broke out at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from a Russian attack did not release any radiation into the air. 

The attack did not hit a nuclear reactor but a training center in the facility, which accounts for about a quarter of the power generated in Ukraine.

The Russians have now taken control of the plant and are forcing Ukrainians to work at gunpoint, according to the operator of the facility. 

Zaporizhzha is Europe’s largest nuclear site and the attack has raised fears over the possibility of a nuclear catastrophe. 

Only one reactor in the plant is working at around 60 percent capacity after the fighting. 

Russia tried to falsely blame Ukraine for the fire that began at the nuclear plant. It is the second nuclear facility Russian has seized in Ukraine during the war. 

Ukraine’s president spoke with President Biden while the fire was previously ongoing at the facility, with the two calling for Russia to stop military activities in the area.