DISINFO: Russia has not attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
SUMMARY
Russia has not attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russian soldiers are cooperating with Ukrainian specialists at the plant.
RESPONSE
This is part of the disinformation narrative about the Russian invasion of and war in Ukraine. The overall Kremlin narrative claims that Russia only attacks military targets, sparing civilian infrastructure. This claim is focusing on the Russian takeover of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on 4 March.
The claim distorts reality. In fact, there was a military attack as Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and heavy fighting sparked a blaze in a training building at the site. A Russian projectile hit a building within the site of the plant, causing a localized fire, but none of the reactors was nearby and they were unaffected, according to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi. The fire was extinguished, and officials said the facility was safe.
The plant, located around 550km (342 miles) southeast of the capital Kyiv, generates around 20% of all electricity in Ukraine. It lies on the river Dnieper, northeast of the city of Kherson which is said to have been occupied by Russian forces. The incident raised alarm among world leaders and nuclear experts about the potential for purposeful or accidental reactor damage that could cause radiation leaks or, in a worst-case scenario, reactor core meltdowns.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday that the attack on Zaporizhzhia was "incredibly reckless and dangerous. And it threatened the safety of civilians across Russia, Ukraine and Europe."
This claim is a part of a wider narrative trying to downplay the Russian attacks against civilian infrastructure. Contrary to these claims the UN have recorded at least 1,207 civilian casualties since the latest armed conflict began on 24 February, including 406 people killed and 801 injured. However, the exact figures are likely to be much higher as ongoing hostilities have hindered the authorities’ ability to verify possible cases in many parts of the country.
Most of the civilian casualties are from airstrikes and explosive weapons used by Russian forces with wide-area effects, including heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems. As a result, hundreds of residential buildings in many cities, including Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mariupol and Kyiv have been damaged and destroyed. With the Russian forces' bombings and shelling of residential areas in cities across Ukraine the casualty numbers are rapidly rising.
See our guide to deciphering pro-Kremlin disinformation around Putin's war.