Ukraine and its allies expressed fury on Friday after Europe’s largest atomic power plant was attacked and seized by invading Russian forces, which continued to shell major cities.
The six reactors at Zaporizhzhia, which can power up to four million homes, appeared undamaged by the fighting and a fire that broke out in a training facility.
But Kyiv accused the Kremlin of “nuclear terror”, and US envoy to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the attack was “incredibly reckless and dangerous”.
Moscow’s UN ambassador called accusations that Russian forces had shelled the plant part of “an unprecedented campaign of lies”.
According to Ukraine, thousands of civilians have died since President Vladimir Putin’s military invaded on February 24, claiming to be fighting a Western-leaning “Nazi” threat on its border.
In a Kyiv hospital, wounded soldiers told AFP of their grim battle against the Russian advance on the capital, and vowed to return to the frontline.
“We were on reconnaissance and came across an enemy column that had made a breakthrough,” said Motyka, 29, who was hit by shrapnel on his right side.
“We fought them and killed their soldiers on foot, but they showered us with mortar fire.”
On Friday, missile and bomb attacks on cities continued, the Ukrainian military said on Facebook, adding that the main focus of Russian troops was to encircle Kyiv.
It added that Russian artillery and multiple launch rocket systems were pounding residential buildings and infrastructure.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack at the nuclear plant “could have stopped the story, the history of Ukraine, the history of Europe.”
“Russian tank commanders knew what they were firing at,” he said, adding: “The terrorist state now resorted to nuclear terror.”
Zelensky will address the US Senate via Zoom on Saturday at the request of Kyiv, a US legislative aide said.
As the war intensifies, some US lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to take a tougher stance against Russia, such as by suspending imports of its oil.
