Early Friday, Russian troops began shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power station, causing a fire at the Ukrainian complex and increasing safety concerns.
In a message sent to Twitter, Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, called on Russia’s military to immediately cease fire on the plant and allow the establishment of a security zone.
Six Soviet-designed 950-megawatt reactors built between 1984 and 1995 at the Zaporizhzhia power plant near Enerhodar, Ukraine, have a capacity of 5.7 gigawatts, enough to power more than 4 million homes. Concerns about the facility’s position pulled markets down and triggered a rush towards safe-haven assets.