Ukrainian civilians opposed Russian troops for the second day in a row in an attempt to protect Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
Huge jets of black smoke and fire were seen coming from a makeshift barricade on the main road to the Zaporozhye site in eastern Ukraine as an air raid siren blew in the background.
Footage taken earlier today shows armed men holding weapons and wearing bulletproof vests, while ammunition appears to have been fired by Russian soldiers.
Two brave civilians are seen throwing Molotov cocktails in the direction of Russian forces, in a video posted on Facebook by the mayor of Enerhodar Dmitry Orlov.
Rockets illuminating the skies were also fired tonight as Russian troops advanced through Ukraine.
Zaporozhye is the largest of Ukraine’s nuclear sites, with six of the country’s 15 reactors. Russia has already taken control of the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
A study by experts from Greenpeace International found that in the worst case scenario, in which explosions destroy the protective and cooling system of the reactor in Zaporozhye, this could create a disaster, much worse than even Fukushima in Japan in 2011.
Huge plums of black smoke and fire could be seen coming from a makeshift barricade on the main road to the Zaporozhye site in eastern Ukraine as an air raid siren blew in the background.
Rockets illuminating the skies were also fired tonight as Russian troops advanced through Ukraine.
Footage taken earlier today shows armed men holding weapons and wearing bulletproof vests, while ammunition appears to have been fired by Russian soldiers.
Two brave civilians are seen throwing Molotov cocktails in the direction of Russian forces, in a video posted on Facebook by Enerhodar Mayor Dmitry Orlov
Yesterday, Ukrainian civilians set up makeshift roadblocks with bright orange trucks and piles of tires on the main road to the Zaporozhye site.
Waving Ukrainian flags, an army of volunteers set up a human barricade near the town of Enerhodar to stop Russian troops from advancing.
Footage posted on social media shows the blockade, a kilometer long and including scrap cars, garbage trucks and sandbags.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior ministry, warned that the Russians could create a “new Chernobyl” if the plant was damaged.
“Because of Vladimir Putin’s madness, Europe is on the brink of a nuclear disaster again,” he wrote on Facebook.
“The city, home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, is preparing to fight the invaders. An accident could happen as at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant or the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Russian generals – think again! Radiation does not know nationalities, it does not spare anyone! ‘
Russia has written to the International Atomic Energy Agency that its forces have taken control of the area around the plant.
Hundreds of Ukrainian civilians opposed Russian troops yesterday in an attempt to protect Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhia
Waving Ukrainian flags, the army of volunteers set up a human barricade near the town of Enerhodar to stop the advance of Russian troops.
Footage posted on social media showed the blockade, reportedly a kilometer long and including scrap cars, garbage trucks and sandbags.
Zaporozhye locals prepare and carry sandbags inside and outside the hospital to be less affected by the Russian attack
A man carries a bag of sand to seal the entrance to an emergency hospital in Zaporizhia, the site of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant
The UN nuclear supervisory body said Moscow claimed that technicians in Zaporozhye were continuing their “work to ensure nuclear safety and monitor radiation in normal operation.”
The letter added: “Radiation levels remain normal.”
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi warned that any “accident involving nuclear facilities in Ukraine could have serious consequences for public health and the environment.”
He said it was “necessary to ensure that the brave people who operate, regulate, inspect and assess Ukraine’s nuclear facilities can continue to do their indispensable work safely, unhindered and without undue pressure.”
Jan Vande Pute, co-author of the risk analysis, said: “As long as this war continues, the military threat to Ukraine’s nuclear power plants will remain. This is another reason, among so many, why Putin must end his war against Ukraine immediately.
The struggle for the defense of Zaporozhye is a symbol of the daily heroism shown by the Ukrainian people. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, told the BBC that he had seen a queue of civilians lining up for hours to take up arms.
“People are proud right now,” said the former world boxing champion. His brother Vladimir, who was also a top fighter, said:
“This is our home. Our parents are buried here, our children go to school here. Why run? What would you do if someone came into your house? You defend it.