Russian soldiers have been killed, with more injured, in an ‘unexplained incident’ at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
The mayor of Enerhodar Dmytro Orlov said some of the soldiers have been left in intensive care following the incident which left them ‘so scared that they ran out in a panic’.
Mayor Orlov said nine soldiers were taken to hospital, some of whom had since died. He said: “One of them was brought in in a serious condition and has been put in intensive care.
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“Some have died but we cannot name their exact number at the moment.”
He added: “They were so frightened that they ran around the territory of the station in a panic, and blocked two shifts of operational personnel at the plant for a very long time instead of changing shifts as they were supposed to.”
The nature of the incident has not been made public.
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The power plant was being used to store missiles and was controlled by as many as 500 Russian soldiers.
The president of Ukrainian nuclear agency Energoatom Petro Kotin said the situation was ‘extremely tense’, saying: “The occupiers bring their machinery there, including missile systems, from which they already shell the other side of the river Dnipro and the territory of Nikopol.
“They physically control the perimeter. The occupiers' heavy machinery and trucks with weapons and explosives remain on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.”
The Zaporizhzhya site, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, was seized by Russian forces on March 4 where a fire broke out and was extinguished, leading to international concern of a potential nuclear accident.
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Mayor Orlov said on Telegram: “A threat to world security!!! As a result of relentless shelling by the enemy of the buildings and blocks of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire!!!”
Fortunately, it was later announced by the head of the United Nations' (UN) atomic watchdog that there had been no release of radioactive material following the fire.
Speaking at the time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of unleashing 'nuclear terror'.
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"You know the word Chernobyl," he said. "No country other than Russia has ever fired on nuclear power units. This is the first time in our history. In the history of mankind.
"The terrorist state now resorted to nuclear terror."
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Topics: Ukraine, World News, Russia