Ukrainian officials say Russian forces have taken control of Europe’s largest nuclear plant, Zaporizhzhia, near the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, after shelling it and sparking a fire in a building at the plant compound.
Ukraine's nuclear inspectorate said that no radiation had leaked at the plant and that personnel were continuing to operate the facility safely. Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control, Ukrainian officials said.
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Friday to discuss the attack at the request of the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Norway and Albania.
"The world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said during the meeting.
"We've just witnessed a dangerous new escalation that represents a dire threat to all of Europe and the world," she added.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said a Russian "projectile" hit a training center at the plant.
“This just demonstrates the recklessness of this war,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said of the power plant attack before Friday’s meeting in Brussels with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other Western foreign ministers.
British Deputy Foreign Minister Dominic Raab described it as a “reckless bombardment,” while Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre denounced it as being “in line with madness.”
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov blamed the attack on a Ukranian "sabotage group" that he said had occupied the plant's training building, attacked a Russian patrol and set the building on fire as it left. He offered no evidence, and no other country appeared to take the claim seriously.
Enerhodar is a crucial power-generating city on the Dnieper River, nearly 700 kilometers southeast of Kyiv. The Zaporizhzhia facility produces about 25% of Ukraine's power.
Nuclear safety experts have expressed concern that fighting so close to the power station could cut off the plant's power supply, which would adversely affect its ability to keep nuclear fuel cool and would increase the possibility of a nuclear meltdown.
U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and received an update on the nuclear power plant fire, according to a White House statement released late Thursday. U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a tweet late Thursday that the Energy Department has activated its Nuclear Incident Response Team and was monitoring events.
Meanwhile, NATO countries on Friday rejected Ukraine’s request that it impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine, warning that to do so could spark a wider war with nuclear-armed Russia.
"The only way to implement a no-fly zone is to send NATO fighter planes into Ukrainian airspace and then impose that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes," Stoltenberg said. "If we did that, we would end up with something that could end in a full-fledged war in Europe."
Also Thursday, Washington heaped another round of sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
"Today I'm announcing that we're adding dozens of names to the list, including one of Russia's wealthiest billionaires, and I'm banning travel to America by more than 50 Russian oligarchs, their families and their close associates," Biden said Thursday before a Cabinet meeting. "And we're going to continue to support the Ukrainian people with direct assistance."
Among the newly sanctioned Putin allies is billionaire Alisher Usmanov, one of Russia's wealthiest individuals. German authorities have seized his 512-foot yacht, estimated to be worth nearly $600 million. Under the directive, his private jet is also open to seizure.
The sanctions list also includes some of Putin's oldest friends, and his press secretary, Dmitry Peskov.
"One of the big factors is, of course, the proximity to President Putin," said White House press secretary Jen Psaki. "We want him to feel the squeeze. We want the people around him to feel the squeeze. I don't believe this is going to be the last set of oligarchs."
She also again ruled out Zelenskyy's request for a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
"A no-fly zone requires implementation," she said. "It would require, essentially, the U.S. military shooting down Russian planes and causing — prompting — a potential direct war with Russia: the exact step that we want to avoid."
Moscow's attempt to quickly take over the Ukrainian capital has apparently stalled, but the military has made significant gains in the south in an effort to sever the country's connection to the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.