UN energy chief makes impassioned plea for peace as strikes at key Ukraine power plant continue 

The UN has condemned ‘targeted’ strikes on Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Ukraine as ‘playing with fire’.

Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, urged both Kyiv and Moscow to put a ‘stop to this madness’ after the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia plant was shelled.

The diplomat stopped short of blaming either side but said it was an outrage that anyone could ‘consider a nuclear power plant to be a legitimate military target’.

‘Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately,’ he added. ‘You’re playing with fire.’

UN officials said there had been more than a dozen blasts overnight at the site at the weekend, some of which were witnessed by a team from the atomic watchdog.

A senior Ukrainian government official accused Russia of trying to force blackouts with strikes on Zaporizhzhia. Pictured: Russian president Vladimir Putin

Rafael Grossi (pictured), head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, urged both Kyiv and Moscow to put a ‘stop to this madness’ after the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia plant was shelled

Last night Ukraine called on Nato to protect its atomic sites from what it described as Russian sabotage.

President Volodymyr Zelensky told the military alliance’s parliamentary meeting in Madrid: ‘All our nations are interested in not having any dangerous incidents at our nuclear facilities. We all need guaranteed protection from Russian sabotage at nuclear facilities.’

Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the attacks at the plant, which have raised fears about the potential for an incident just 300 miles from Chernobyl, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986. 

UN officials said there had been more than a dozen blasts overnight at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (Zaporizhzhia plant pictured) the weekend, some of which were witnessed by a team from the atomic watchdog.

Alexei Likhachev, head of Russia’s state nuclear energy giant Rosatom, said last night: ‘The plant is at risk of a nuclear accident.’

A senior Ukrainian government official accused Russia of trying to force blackouts with strikes on Zaporizhzhia. Yuriy Sak told the BBC the attacks were a ‘genocidal campaign to freeze Ukrainians to death, to deprive Ukrainians of electricity’.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians but admits striking energy infrastructure.

• The World Health Organisation last night warned this winter would be ‘life-threatening’ for millions of Ukrainians after the country’s energy grid was targeted.