Europe's biggest nuclear power plant on fire after Russian attack

Europe's largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine's southeast is under attack by Russian troops, according to local reports.

A section of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine was on fire early on Friday after an attack by Russian troops, the mayor of the nearby town of Energodar said.

It has since been confirmed a training facility was attacked at the site. CCTV shared by the plant's YouTube account shows several explosions at the plant, several hundred metres southeast of the nearest reactor.

There has been fierce fighting between local forces and Russian troops, Dmytro Orlov said in an online post, adding that there had been casualties without giving details.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities reported Russian troops were stepping up efforts to seize the plant and had entered the town with tanks.

"As a result of continuous enemy shelling of buildings and units of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire," Orlov said on his Telegram channel, citing what he called a threat to world security. He did not give details.

Fire at a nuclear plant 'the most dangerous of events'

Director of Nuclear Power Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists Edwin Lyman said the attack posed a significant threat.

"I shouldn't have to say that fire is one of the most dangerous events at a nuclear plant and is associated with a high risk of core damage," he tweeted.

Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said an explosion of the plant would be "10 times larger than Chernobyl".

Nuclear expert Cheryl Rofer cast doubt on such a claim, suggesting it would not be as serious.

She did however say it was vital for Russians to move away from the plant via her Twitter account.

Jeremy Gordon, a communication consultant in the nuclear energy sector, said Kuleba's claim was "irresponsible".

Rofer said there were early indications an administrative building at the site had been struck, south of the plant's six reactors.

Depending on its severity, the fire could force a shutdown of the site, which accounts for 25 per cent of Ukraine's power generation.

The plant's director told Ukraine 24 television that radiation security at this stage had been secured at the site, while the International Atomic Energy Agency said "essential" equipment had not been affected.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has discussed the attack with US President Joe Biden, The White House confirmed.

Zelensky described the attack an act of "nuclear terror" and called on Europe to intervene in a video address.

"No country has ever shot an nuclear blocks apart from Russia... if there is an explosion it is the end of everyone," he said.

Russian invasion enters ninth day

The invasion of Ukraine is entering its ninth day. Thousands are thought to have died or been wounded as the biggest attack on a European state since World War II unfolds, creating 1 million refugees, hits to Russia's economy, and fears of wider conflict in the West unthought-of for decades.

Russia has already captured the defunct Chernobyl plant, some 100 kilometres north of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.

On Thursday, the United States and Britain announced sanctions on more oligarchs, following on from EU measures, as they ratcheted up the pressure on the Kremlin.

Included was Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, the founder of mining company Metalloinvest.

Visa restrictions will be imposed on 19 Russian oligarchs, their family members and associates, the White House said.

Sanctions have "had a profound impact already," Biden said.

Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" that is not designed to occupy territory but to destroy its neighbour's military capabilities and capture what it regards as dangerous nationalists. It denies targeting civilians.

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