'Nuclear terrorism' fears rise as Russia repeatedly bombs power plants in Ukraine

dailystar.co.uk:

Ukraine officials have accused Russia of "nuclear terrorism" after their troops repeatedly bombed a reactor site in Kharkiv.Vladimir Putin's troops allegedly launched a new attack on the city's Institute of Physics and Technology as footage from the scene shows huge flames in the building and a nearby hostel.The fire is said to have broken out at around 8.20pm yesterday (Thursday, March 10), following sounds of "explosions and volleys of artillery."Ukraine's Centre for Strategic Communications and Information Security tweeted: "In Kharkiv, eyewitnesses report a fire in the building of Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology."The building contains equipment which, if damaged, can lead to radioactive pollution of the environment."The fire was later put out by firefighters and thankfully, there have been no changes to radiation levels in the area.However, experts fear attacks like this could result in a catastrophe and several warnings have gone ignored by the Russian military leading to the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine accusing Russia of committing "an act of nuclear terrorism."The news comes after Ukraine's deputy minister for foreign affairs, Emine Dzheppar, warned Putin against bombing the site last week.

She said: "The Russian aggressor fired a hail at the Institute's territory, where the Neutron Source nuclear facility is located, with 37 nuclear fuel cells loaded into its core."Destruction of a nuclear installation and storage facilities for nuclear materials can lead to a large-scale environmental catastrophe."However, this isn't the first nuclear facility that has become a target since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war.As just days ago more Russian troops were stationed just 20 miles.