KYIV, Ukraine - Shelling near a Russian-occupied nuclear power complex in southern Ukraine has hit the fire station tasked with extinguishing any blazes inside the sprawling facility, officials said Monday, amid ongoing concerns over nuclear safety because of fighting in the area.
Russia seized control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest, in March. They have turned it into a fortress and a launchpad for attacks on Ukrainian positions. In the past few weeks, shells have hit the facility and the area around it, with Ukraine and Russia trading blame for who is responsible and the United Nations nuclear watchdog alarming over the potential for a major nuclear accident.
On Monday, the Ukrainian company that oversees the nation's nuclear power plants said Russian forces had targeted a fire station outside the plant that is responsible for extinguishing fires at the facility in the event of an emergency. The company, Energoatom, said in a statement that it poses a serious risk to the safe operation of the plant.