Fears of a nuclear catastrophe worse than the 1986 Chernobyl disaster were raised overnight into Friday when Russian shelling hit Europe’s largest power plant, causing a fire that was later extinguished.
Russian forces now occupy the Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine, the country’s nuclear inspectorate said, adding that the nuclear facilities are intact and undamaged. Nuclear scientists called the attack “astonishing” and unprecedented.
The incident came as Russian forces made gains in Ukraine’s south, seizing one key port city and encircling another.
Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis continues to grow with more than 1 million people displaced so far. Ukraine and Russia tentatively agreed in talks Thursday to create humanitarian corridors to allow the safe passage of civilians. The Biden administration is offering temporary immigration protections to Ukrainians already in the United States.
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