Russia-Ukraine updates: Putin says 'certain positive movements' in negotiations

A third round of talks between Russia and Ukraine ended without any resolution.

Russian forces are continuing their attempted push through Ukraine from multiple directions, while Ukrainians, led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are putting up "stiff resistance," according to U.S. officials.

The attack began Feb. 24, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation."

Russian forces moving from neighboring Belarus toward Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, have advanced closer to the city center in recent days despite the resistance, coming within about 9 miles as of Friday.

Russia has been met by sanctions from the United States, Canada and countries throughout Europe, targeting the Russian economy as well as Putin himself.

For previous coverage, please click here.

Hulu

Two Men at War

A look at the two leaders at the center of the war in Ukraine and how they both rose to power, the difference in their leadership and what led to this moment in history.

Mar 04, 2022, 5:41 AM EST

No radioactive material released at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: IAEA

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Friday that no radioactive material was released at Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant amid shelling from Russian forces overnight.

The shelling sparked a fire in a training building at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar. The blaze has since been extinguished, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi attends a news conference in Vienna, Austria, March 4, 2022.
Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

Two security employees at the plant were injured during the incident, according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

"The safety systems at the six reactors were not effected," Grossi said at a press conference in Vienna on Friday morning. "No radioactive material was released."

"We are following the situation very, very closely," he added.

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti

Mar 04, 2022, 2:57 AM EST

Fire at Ukraine's largest nuclear facility extinguished as Russian forces take control

A fire at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar was extinguished Friday, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

The fire occurred in a training building at the site after shelling from Russian forces. There were no victims, the emergency service said.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe.

A view shows a damaged administrative building of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in Enerhodar, the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine in a photo released March 4, 2022, by the press service of National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom.
Energoatom via Reuters

Meanwhile, Energodar Mayor Dmytro Orlov told reporters Friday morning that the city is now under the control of Russian forces and fighting near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant has stopped. It's the second Ukrainian nuclear facility to fall under Russian control since the invasion began Feb. 24. Last week, Russian forces seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where the world's worst nuclear accident took place in 1986, and the surrounding exclusion zone, which includes the ghost city of Pripyat.

Ukraine's national nuclear regulator has said that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant's employees are being permitted to work as normal, safety systems are currently functioning and there was no reported change in radiation levels at the site.

-ABC News’ Brian Hartman and Patrick Reevell

Mar 04, 2022, 2:12 AM EST

UN nuclear watchdog warns of 'severe danger if any reactors were hit' at plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has appealed for a halt of the use of force at Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant and warned of "severe danger if any reactors were hit."

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said in a statement early Friday that it was informed by Ukraine that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, had been shelled overnight in the eastern city of Enerhodar. IAEA Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi "immediately" spoke with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal as well as the country’s national nuclear regulator and operator about the "serious situation." Grossi is expected to hold a press conference later Friday.

Surveillance camera footage shows a flare landing at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during shelling in Enerhodar, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine, March 4, 2022, in this screengrab from a video obtained from social media.
Zaporizhzhya NPP via YouTube/Reuters

According to IAEA, the Ukrainian regulatory authority said a fire at the site had not affected "essential" equipment and plant personnel were taking mitigatory actions, and that there was no reported change in radiation levels at the plant.

Ukraine's State Emergency Service said the blaze, which occurred in a training building after shelling from Russian forces, was extinguished Friday morning.

The IAEA said it is putting its Incident and Emergency Center (IEC) in "full response mode" due to the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The agency continues to closely monitor developments at the facility and remains in constant contact with Ukraine.

Mar 03, 2022, 10:32 PM EST

Zelenskyy calls for action to prevent 'catastrophe' after nuclear power plant shelling

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave an urgent plea for intervention after officials said Russian troops shelled Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant overnight.

"Russia wants to repeat Chernobyl, but six times worse," Zelenskyy said in a video message. "Europe wake up, tell your politicians: 'Russian troops are shelling a nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.'"

The president warned there are six power units at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant -- where a fire ignited during the shelling -- and only one power unit exploded at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the 1986 nuclear disaster.

"The Russian military must be stopped immediately," Zelenskyy said. "Shout to your politicians. Ukraine has 15 nuclear units. If there is an explosion, it is the end of everything. The end of Europe. This is the evacuation of Europe. Only immediate action by Europe can stop Russian troops. Prevent the death of Europe from the catastrophe at the nuclear power plant."

President Joe Biden spoke with Zelenskyy to receive an update on the fire at the power plant and "joined President Zelenskyy in urging Russia to cease its military activities in the area and allow firefighters and emergency responders to access the site," the White House said in a readout of the call.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also spoke to Zelenskyy about the "gravely concerning situation" at the power station and said he would be seeking an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting "in the coming hours," his office said.

A White House official told ABC News its latest information shows no indications of elevated levels of radiation.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog group, also tweeted that Ukraine's regulatory authority said there hasn't been any change in radiation levels reported at the site in the wake of the blasts.

-ABC News' Uliana Lototska and Molly Nagle

Related Topics