World ‘narrowly escaped nuclear disaster’ after blackout at Ukraine plant

A blackout at the nuclear site in Ukraine could have caused a world catastrophe overnight, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Both Ukraine and Russia are blaming the other for fires sparked in ash pits of a nearby coal station that disconnected the Zaporozhzhia plant from the power grid.

“The situation is extremely dangerous,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. “I’m receiving reports that there are fires in the forest near the power plant.”

Losing electricity to a nuclear power plant potentially poses radioactive consequences. With the plant located on the battlefield in Ukraine, the world agency overseeing nuclear sites, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Thursday intervention will come “within days.”

“The thing is that this operation is extremely complex,” IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said. “For starters, getting there. This is a war zone. This is in Ukraine, it is already difficult. I think now there is general recognition that we need to be there, we need to be there soon. Kyiv accepts it. Moscow accepts it.”

The nuclear plant in Ukraine has been a focal point of the war. It was quickly taken over by Russian troops. There have been close calls as attacks have occurred in dangerous proximity to the plant. The power going out makes the plant dependent on back up generators. Ukrainian officials said it is a dangerous position to be in as rising temperatures inside could contribute to a reactor meltdown.

Ukraine is all too familiar with radioactive disaster. The Chernobyl nuclear accident was relatively recent in history just 36 years ago in Ukraine. Ukraine cannot simply shut down its nuclear plants in the midst of the war because the country heavily relies on them to provide about half of all its electricity. Still, an ongoing conflict near a working atomic plant is troubling as fear grows of a damaged facility leading to a disaster.

AP News contributed to this report.