KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Kyiv and Moscow have exchanged blame for fresh shelling around Europe’s largest nuclear facility, which is in Russia’s control and has come under fire repeatedly in the past week.
The Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine has been occupied by Russian forces since March, and Kyiv has accused Moscow of basing hundreds of soldiers and storing arms there.
“According to residents, there is new shelling in the direction of the nuclear plant… the time between the start and arrival of the shelling is 3 to 5 seconds,” Energoatom said on Saturday in a message shared on Telegram from a local chief in Energodar city, which remains loyal to Kyiv.
But pro-Moscow officials in the occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia blamed the shelling on Ukrainian forces.
“Energodar and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are again under fire by (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelensky’s militants,” Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Moscow-installed administration, said.
The missiles fell “in the areas located on the banks of the Dnipro river and in the plant,” he said, without reporting any casualties or damage.
The river divides the areas occupied by Russia and those under Ukraine’s control.