Last night's fire on the territory of the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is a leading topic in the world media, writes BTA in the press review.
"Fire in the cooling tower of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia", reads a leading headline in the French "Journal du Dimanche". According to the Moscow-appointed governor of Ukraine's Zaporozhye region, Yevgeny Balitsky, a fire broke out in the cooling tower of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. He blamed it on the Ukrainian shelling of the city of Energodar.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a team of experts at the plant, this incident had no impact on nuclear safety.
The fire at the "Zaporozhie" NPP has been extinguished completely, the French newspaper "Mond" reports, citing a representative of the Russian-appointed local administration. Both Moscow and Kiev accused each other of being behind the incident, notes the French edition.
Another French newspaper, "Figaro", cited a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who reported on social media that "Russian occupiers started a fire" at the headquarters, but emphasized that "at the moment the radiation levels are within the norms". This information was also confirmed by Moscow-appointed Governor Balitsky, who added that the work of the six reactors was stopped as a precautionary measure.
Russian forces have repeatedly accused the Ukrainian army of deliberately shelling the facility, which Kiev denies. For its part, Ukraine accuses Russia of militarizing the site by installing heavy weapons around the plant's perimeter. The IAEA has repeatedly called for restraint, fearing that "reckless" military action could cause a "large-scale nuclear accident", recalls "Figaro".
For its part, the British in. "Daily Telegraph" cites a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Russian forces started a fire at the Zaporizhia NPP to "blackmail" Kyiv, whose forces entered Russian territory. According to a Ukrainian official, there is an "unofficial" information that yesterday Russia set fire to a large number of car tires at the cooling towers of the Zaporizhia facility, which it occupied shortly after the start of its invasion in February 2022.
"Only with (the restoration of) Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhia NPP; a return to normality and complete safety can be guaranteed," Zelensky stressed.
This comes as Kiev tries to push further into Kursk Oblast after launching a surprise offensive earlier this month - the first foreign invasion of Russian soil since World War II, the v. " Daily Telegraph". The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that Ukraine has penetrated more than 30 km into the country's territory, but Russian forces have "thwarted the attempts" of groups using armored vehicles to break through the defense lines near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchiy Kolodez.
The aim of the Ukrainian attack in the Kursk region is to destabilize Russia, notes another British newspaper - "Guardian". It remains unclear how long the operation will last in the medium term amid Kremlin threats that it will be crushed with the help of Russian reinforcements. Russia believes that several hundred Ukrainian soldiers are involved in it, but according to a quoted by "Guardian" Ukrainian official representative their number amounts to thousands.
Kiev caught Russia off guard by striking a thinly defended sector of the front that has not seen significant fighting since spring 2022, breaching limited border defenses.
After several days of fighting in the southwestern part of Russia, both sides are reporting successes, but the fighting continues, notes the American "New York Times".