Ukraine blames Russian attack for fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant

A fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been extinguished following an alleged Russian attack, raising international alarm over Moscow’s warfare during another night of devastating shelling.

World leaders condemned the assault on the Zaporizhzhia plant after the fire broke out in the early hours, with Joe Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire on the nuclear site in the south east of Ukraine.

By dawn Ukrainian authorities, who had blamed Russian shelling, reported the blaze at “an educational and training building” had been put out. No casualties or unusual radiation levels have been reported at the site.

The incident came after another brutal bombardment of Ukraine’s urban centres, including a ruinous siege of the port city of Mariupol, whose population of almost half a million is lacking food, water and electricity.

Oil prices jumped above $114 a barrel and global shares fell as markets reacted with alarm to the grim developments on a ninth night of war. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell by as much as 3 per cent before recovering to trade 2 per cent lower.

Global commodity prices are on track for the biggest weekly rally in more than five decades as the Russian invasion spurs sharp gains for grains, metals and energy prices worldwide. Wheat futures closed up almost 22 per cent at a fresh 14-year high of $12.89 a bushel.

Invoking the “global catastrophe” of Chernobyl in 1986, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky contacted half a dozen world leaders in the early hours of Friday, accusing Russia of deliberately targeting the reactors. Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, condemned Putin’s “reckless actions” while Justin Trudeau of Canada called for the “horrific attacks” to cease immediately.

During the incident, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said he was “deeply concerned” about the situation and called on all sides “to refrain from actions that can put [nuclear plants] in danger”.

The IAEA subsequently said the Ukrainian regulator had reported no change in radiation levels at the facility. It added that the fire had not affected “essential” equipment and that personnel at the facility were taking “mitigatory actions”. The agency said the regulator had informed it that battles were raging in Enerhodar, a few kilometres from the plant.

The fire followed a day during which Russia subjected the Ukrainian port of Mariupol and the cities of Chernihiv and Kharkiv to relentless bombardment. Ukraine’s military, in an update on Monday, said Russian troops were attempting to “weaken resistance” of cities under siege.

Military analysts said the main objective of Russian troops remained the encirclement of the capital Kyiv, an advance that western officials say has made little discernible progress for several days because of tactical and logistical failures.

Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv came under fierce bombardment this week. In Mariupol, officials said the city was completely encircled by Russian troops who were shelling the town heavily, and residents were living without power, water, internet access or heat in sub-zero winter temperatures.

“I feel like the Russians are planning to just smash the city and destroy it — to occupy it, not take the city — just destroy it,” said Diana Berg, a resident who fled the besieged city this week. “For the last eight years, it was a symbol of resistance, and the forefront of the long war with Russia.”

Berg said the shelling had hit civilian buildings including residential blocks, schools, and a neonatal hospital.

“The most terrifying thing was being without any communication at all, and with no power, no electricity, no heat, and no water,” she said. “I know Kharkiv and Kyiv are suffering too, but they still have connections to tell about it.”

During a second round of talks on Thursday, Russia and Ukraine delegations agreed to set up civilian evacuation routes out of Ukrainian cities hard-hit by the war. However, the negotiations ended without a ceasefire agreement.

Putin appeared on state television to say he would “never give up [his] conviction that Russians and Ukrainians are one people”, adding that Russia’s troops were fighting “heroically”.

Stepping up its attempts to hobble the Russian economy, the US issued new sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs and their families, as well as the Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov.

But the White House rejected bipartisan calls to ban Russian oil imports into the US, saying an embargo would limit global supply and raise prices for consumers.