Zaporizhzhia

European markets are plummeting this morning following Russia's capture of Europe's largest nuclear power station, Zaporizhzhia, in southeastern Ukraine.

Yandex—the “Russian Google”—has warned it may default on its debt owing to its suspension from New York trading. After Amazon told the FTC it has provided all the information its antitrust investigators require, the agency will now need to make its call by mid-March, giving the companies more certainty. Amazon has reportedly moved to force a decision by the Federal Trade Commission on its $6.5 billion MGM movie and television studio acquisition. McKinsey has stopped working for state-owned Russian entities and stopped taking on new client work in Russia, and BCG is suspending work with all Russian clients, while retaining its Russian staff for now. That’s possibly something to do with its oligarch owner, Vagit Alekperov, reportedly losing $6.9 billion of his personal wealth as a result of the crisis. And then there are the contained ruins of Chernobyl itself, which the Russians grabbed a week ago. The centrist leader may also be helped by the fact that his far-right rivals were pretty cozy with Putin. Financial Times The seizure of Zaporizhzhia took place early this morning, following Russian shelling of the plant that caused a significant fire—thankfully in a training building rather than a reactor unit. (Bonus read: Fortune’s Yvonne Lau on how China can provide a SWIFT alternative for Russia, but may not want to.) Moscow Times Meanwhile, here’s some cause to believe sanctions are having a real effect: Russia’s second-biggest oil firm Lukoil, which just a couple of days ago said it was profiting handsomely from soaring energy prices, has begged the Russian government to stop the war. “You want to live on an Earth that isn’t radioactive. “Tell them you want to live,” he said.

Russian troops have occupied Europe's largest nuclear power plant, after fierce fighting near the Ukrainian facility that drew international condemnation ...

"It seems to me unlikely that such an impact would result in a Chernobyl-like nuclear event (but) this has never been tested and it is not impossible." "Even if they were not aiming for the nuclear plant, artillery is notoriously inaccurate in a time of war." Electricity at the Fukushima plant in Japan was cut off during the nuclear disaster there in 2011, while the reactors themselves remained intact. The plant had not sustained any critical damage in the attack, Andrii Tuz, a plant spokesman, told CNN on Friday. The Chernobyl disaster took place at a plant that used Soviet-era, graphite-moderated RBMK reactors. Because wittingly or unwittingly, you can very quickly go into a disaster, and this is why we're so concerned." They've been preparing for this (attack)," Zelensky said in the post, adding "our guys are keeping the atomic power station secure." Ukrainian officials quickly sounded the alarm about the potential implications of the attack. It said staff are working on the power units to ensure stable operation. Four of the remaining units are being cooled down while one unit is providing power, the statement said. "Completely uncharted waters." "No country besides Russia has ever fired upon an atomic power plant's reactors.

Russian forces in Ukraine have been shelling the Zaporizhzhia power plant, the largest nuclear plant of its kind in Europe.

The reactors have large concrete containments and built-in fire protection systems, he said, adding: “Obviously, it’s not a good idea if you start shooting massive missiles at reactors,” he said. The US also said their latest information showed no indication of elevated radiation levels at the plant. It is about 200km from the contested Donbas region and 550km south-east of Kyiv. He said the pressurised water reactors were “a lot safer” than the reactors at Chernobyl, and did not appear to be damaged yet. It has six reactors, each generating 950MW, and a total output of 5,700MW, enough energy for roughly 4m homes. A short time later, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service reported that radiation at the plant was “within normal limits” and the fire conditions at the plant were “normal”. It reported that the fire was in a building outside the power plant.

Russia seizes Europe's largest nuclear plant as Ukraine accuses Moscow of 'nuclear terror' by setting off a fire there.

“If there is an explosion, it is the end of everything. “This is the first time in our history. In the history of mankind. “The director of the plant said that the nuclear safety is now guaranteed,” Oleksandr Starukh, head of the military administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, said on Facebook. “As a result of continuous enemy shelling of buildings and units of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is on fire,” Mayor Dmytro Orlov said on his Telegram channel. Ukraine’s nuclear inspectorate said on Thursday that “armed forces of the Russian Federation have occupied the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant” shortly after the fire was extinguished.

Russian military forces have seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - Europe's largest - in Ukraine's southeast, the regional state administration said ...

Granholm said on Twitter she had spoken with Ukraine's energy minister about the situation at the plant. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

Fire caused by Russian shelling now doused, normal radiation levels confirmed. Though plant is more secure than Chernobyl in 1986, fire in reactors would ...

Ukraine’s four nuclear plants together generate nearly half the country’s electricity, perhaps explaining Russia’s thinking behind this hazardous strategy of targeting the plant. Significantly, unlike Chernobyl, the Zaporizhzhia reactors do not contain graphite. Any such damage to the reactor or the storage facility can lead to inconsistencies in the electricity supply that controls the water flow. These reactors are also pressurised water reactors, unlike the ones at Chernobyl. The radioactive spillovers stretched nearly 1,50,000 square kilometres from the site. Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, stated that initially Ukrainian authorities were blocked from controlling the fire, but later they were allowed to douse it.