Warnings of a possible attack at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine have sent some nearby residents fleeing over the threat of nuclear catastrophe.
Ukrainian intelligence said Russia sent plant workers home Friday and could be planning an imminent attack. The facility has been under Russian control since March but continues to supply electricity to Ukraine.
Ukraine has blamed Russia for explosions there and said the Kremlin is using Europe’s largest nuclear power plant for blackmail. Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, has accused Ukraine of shelling the plant. Both sides said the other could seek to deflect blame through a “false flag” operation.
So far, Ukraine’s suspicions that Russia will act to remove Zaporizhzhia from Ukraine’s power grid have not been borne out. But the situation remains tense: Fighting has prompted some nearby residents to leave, while others live under daily bombardment.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned Friday that escalation could lead to a severe nuclear accident. But the Zaporizhzhia facility is safer than the one at Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986, experts say.
Here’s what to know about the Zaporizhzhia plant and the risks of fighting there.
War in Ukraine: What you need to know
The latest: Grain shipments from Ukraine are gathering pace under the agreement hammered out by Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations in July. Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports had sent food prices soaring and raised fears of more hunger in the Middle East and Africa. At least 18 ships, including loads of wheat, corn and sunflower oil, have departed.
The fight: The conflict on the ground grinds on as Russia uses its advantage in heavy artillery to pummel Ukrainian forces, which have sometimes been able to put up stiff resistance. In the south, Ukrainian hopes rest on liberating the Russia-occupied Kherson region, and ultimately Crimea, seized by Russia in 2014. Fears of a disaster at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station remain as both sides accuse each other of shelling it.
The weapons: Western supplies of weapons are helping Ukraine slow Russian advances. U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) allow Ukrainian forces to strike farther behind Russian lines against Russian artillery. Russia has used an array of weapons against Ukraine, some of which have drawn the attention and concern of analysts.
Photos: Washington Post photographers have been on the ground from the very beginning of the war — here’s some of their most powerful work.
How you can help: Here are ways those in the U.S. can help support the Ukrainian people as well as what people around the world have been donating.
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