His state nuclear power company Ukrainian, Energoatomannounced that nuclear power plant her Zaporozhye has been operating since noon today with the risk of leaks and fires following the explosions Ukrainians and Russians have been blaming each other for for weeks.

Russian troops bombed the area “repeatedly over the past 24 hours,” the report said. Telegram national Ukrainian company.

“As a result of periodic bombardments, the infrastructure of the station has been damaged and there is a risk of hydrogen leakage and radioactive spraying,” he said, citing an “increased risk of fire.”

Starting today at 12:00 (local and Greek time), the station is “operating at the risk of violating radiation and fire safety regulations,” according to the company.

Russia has accused Ukraine of firing 17 shells into the area of ​​Europe’s largest station over the past 24 hours.

“Four fell on the roof of a building (…) where 168 packages of American nuclear fuel of the company Westinghouse“, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that shells also landed in a spent fuel storage area and next to another containing “fresh fuel.”

According to the Russian military, the Ukrainian army opened fire from positions around the city Dealeropposite the station, on the opposite bank of the Dnieper, which is still under the control of Kyiv.

AFP notes that it has not been able to independently confirm these claims.

The Zaporozhye plant, where six of Ukraine’s 15 reactors are located, was captured by Russian forces in early March, shortly after the February 24 invasion, and is close to the front line to the south.

Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of shelling the territory of the complex near the city of Energodar on the Dnieper River, which jeopardized the station.

From Thursday to Friday, the plant and its six 1,000-megawatt reactors were “completely disconnected” from the national grid due to damaged power lines, Kyiv said.

Energoatom then reported that yesterday, Friday, at 2:04 pm, “one of its reactors, which stopped work the day before, was reconnected to the power grid.” The reconnected reactor “generates electricity for the needs of Ukraine” and “is in the process of increasing its capacity,” the company explained.

The occupation authorities of Energodar, for their part, yesterday again blamed the Ukrainian troops.

Its specialists International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are expected at the Zaporozhye NPP “next week”, said the adviser to the Minister of Energy Lana Mirrorwho accused the Russians of “creating artificial obstacles” to this mission, which Moscow denies.

As a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, which entered its seventh month on Wednesday, the sanctions imposed on Russian oil, and Moscow’s partial shutdown of gas supplies at this stage, energy prices in Europe have skyrocketed, and the continent is preparing for a harsh winter.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Dennis Schmichal he warned in a Telegram message that “this warming will certainly be the worst in the history of independent Ukraine.” “The main risk is the actions of Russian terrorists against critical infrastructure,” he said.