Inside the battle at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant

Over the past month, Russia has been mounting attacks out of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which it took over close to the start of the war. The plant came under fire again yesterday, with both Kyiv and Moscow blaming each other for the attacks.

And if you just said in your head, “hmmm, explosions around a nuclear reactor don’t exactly sound like the best idea,” your instincts would be right. According to Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, “Any military firepower directed at or from the facility would amount to playing with fire, with potentially catastrophic consequences.”

🤔 What’s going on?... Caveat: during war, it’s often hard to tell what info is real and what isn’t. But what we do know (publicly at least), based on satellite imagery, is that Russian forces began using the plant around a month ago as a base to stage artillery attacks on the nearby town of Nikopol – and over that same time period, the power plant has taken-on some serious damage.

• Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of setting off explosions at the plant in a bid to scare European allies and discourage them from arming Ukraine, saying its military can’t shoot back out of concern that missiles would hit a reactor at the plant, igniting a radiation catastrophe (fun fact: the Chernobyl nuclear plant is also located in Ukraine).
• Moscow has denied the accusations, accusing Ukraine of repeatedly shelling the plant to drive out Russian troops.

🇺🇦 Zoom out: Here’s a quick rundown of other recent Russia/Ukraine war happenings: A Ukrainian counterattack in Crimea appears to have destroyed at least eight Russian planes, the UK approved the delivery of additional multiple-launch rocket systems and missiles to Kyiv,​​ and McDonald’s is planning a phased reopening of some of its restaurants in Ukraine.