Update:
Shortly after this piece was published, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted for the first time in 16 hours. The video message, which includes a caption translated to say "Urgently!," appears to be about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
?????????! pic.twitter.com/MuXfniddVT
— ????????? ?????????? (@ZelenskyyUa) March 4, 2022
Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!
— ??????? (@alisdklaa) March 4, 2022
Original:
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been going on for a week now, and yet the Russians have only been able to capture one city, Kherson, as Matt mentioned earlier on Thursday. There's been agreements to a temporary ceasefire as well, though the keyword here is temporary, and it's only occurring in certain parts of the country so that civilians can get to safety and food and medicine can get through. Further, "Zaporizhzhia" is trending on Twitter, as is "Nuclear Plant," because Russian troops have gone after that nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, located in the city of Enerhodar.
#Ukraine: IAEA is aware of reports of shelling at #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), in contact with Ukrainian authorities about situation.
— IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg) March 4, 2022
It can't be stressed enough how bad this could be, with some saying this could be worse than Chernobyl, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine warned over Twitter.
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Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broke out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) March 4, 2022
Fortunately, the most recent tweet from International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a bit of hopeful news.
#Ukraine tells IAEA that fire at site of #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has not affected “essential” equipment, plant personnel taking mitigatory actions.
— IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency (@iaeaorg) March 4, 2022
An update from the Associated Press has more details:
“We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire,” Andriy Tuz, spokesperson for the plant in Enerhodar, said in a video posted on Telegram. “There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe.”
The plant accounts for about one quarter of Ukraine’s power generation.
Tuz told Ukrainian television that shells were falling directly on the Zaporizhzhia plant and had set fire to one of the facility’s six reactors. That reactor is under renovation and not operating, but there is nuclear fuel inside, he said.
Firefighters cannot get near the fire because they are being shot at, Tuz said.
A live-streamed security camera linked from the homepage of the nuclear power plant showed what appeared to be armored vehicles rolling into the facility’s parking lot and shining spotlights on the building where the camera was mounted. There are then what appear to be bright muzzle flashes from vehicles and then nearly simultaneous explosions in the surrounding buildings. Smoke then rises and drifts across the frame.
News about the power plant is hardly the only frightening update out of Ukraine, as Ukrainians have been targeting Russians of targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, though Russia denies this, according to a Fox News report from Michael Ruiz about the power plant.
Good Morning America earlier on Thursday featured the Ohmadyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv, where pediatric patients, such as toddlers with fluid on their brain and those who need dialysis treatments are receiving care in the basement of the hospital.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky certainly has been battle-tested. While the United States reportedly offered to help him evacuate, he refused, saying "I need ammunition, not a ride." He's also been giving regular video updates and tweeting out in several languages, including English. Now, he thinks he may have an idea about what can "stop this war," and that's confronting Russia's Vladimir Putin directly.
"It’s not about I want to talk with Putin, I think I have to talk with Putin," Zelensky said to reporters, as highlighted by Mychael Schnell for The Hill. "The world has to talk with Putin because there are no other ways to stop this war."
Ukrainian President Zelensky challenges Vladimir Putin to sit down for talk https://t.co/5v84PEfKod pic.twitter.com/ARQLQMTSg0
— TIME (@TIME) March 3, 2022
Zelensky continues to call for sanctions as well. On Thursday, the White House announced new sanctions against eight individuals. The United States, a fact-sheet mentioned, is "targeting additional Russian elites and family members who continue supporting President Putin despite his brutal invasion of Ukraine. These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people, and some have elevated their family members into high-ranking positions."
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