Russian forces occupy site of nuclear plant as fire contained

RUSSIAN forces occupied the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine on Friday (Mar 4), Ukraine said, raising the stakes in President Vladimir Putin's invasion as his forces bombarded cities across the country.

The news came after Russian shelling caused a fire at a training complex in the Zaporizhzhia plant. Emergency services extinguished the blaze and there were no casualties. Ukraine told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the incident had "not affected 'essential' equipment", and there had been no change reported in radiation levels.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as reports emerged about the attack, and the leaders had earlier called on Russia "to cease its military activities in the area", said a White House statement.

"Europe must wake up," Zelenskiy said in a video message early on Friday, adding that he also spoke with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other leaders.

"If there is an explosion, it is the end of Europe," Zelenskiy added. "Only urgent Europe actions can stop Russian troops."

US futures slid and European equities tumbled to a 1-year low as war risks intensified. Europe's Stoxx 600 benchmark fell nearly 3 per cent, poised for its worst week since March 2020.

Risk appetite in global markets has plummeted after Russia's invasion of its neighbour and the ensuing sanctions by the United States and its allies, while commodities are surging on supply concerns. Treasuries and gold climbed, while oil headed for its biggest weekly surge in almost 2 years. The US dollar gained and the euro slipped.

"The market mood is deep red," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote. The Russian stock market will be closed to trading until at least next Wednesday, marking a record in the country's modern history, in a bid to stave off the impact of global sanctions for domestic investors.

The Ukraine government is seeking more clarity on any damage on the nuclear plant, whose unit No 1 is said to have been hit by a missile. Reactors are "being protected by robust containment structures" and are being safely shut down, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement, adding her department had activated its nuclear incident response team.

Energoatom, the state company that manages all of Ukraine's nuclear power plants said it was allowing employees to come to work at the site.

Mariano Grossi, the IAEA's director-general, spoke with Ukrainian authorities and warned of "severe danger" if its reactors were hit. The site accounts for about 20 per cent of the country's electricity, said its website.

While Ukrainain Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned of a disaster "10 times larger" than Chernobyl, analysts said that was unlikely.

"If there is no significant military damage to their multiple redundant safety systems, the reactors should remain in a safe stable state," said Lake Barrett, a former official at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission who was involved with the cleanup at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in the US.

In the days leading up to the strike, the International Atomic Energy Agency had considered a 30 km exclusion zone surrounding all of Ukraine's reactors, acknowledging the unprecedented nature of combat taking place in and around the facilities.

There's never before been a military attack on an operating nuclear plant, analysts said. BLOOMBERG