Ukraine had a nuclear plant accident, prime minister says

Peter Weber, The Week US's avatar
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Ukraine had a nuclear plant accident, prime minister says
(Image credit: CC by: Ralf1969)

On Wednesday, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk reported an accident at the Zaporizhye nuclear power plant, in southern Ukraine roughly 50 miles north of the Crimean peninsula. Yatseniuk didn't appear to have much more information, calling on the energy minister to hold his own news conference with an assessment of the situation, and at this point Ukraine seems to be treating the accident as an electricity problem rather than a nuclear fallout crisis. The accident was reportedly in the third of six 1,000 megawatt reactors, and Reuters notes that Ukraine is already suffering through a power shortage. Zaporizhye is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and provides about a fifth of Ukraine's electricity.

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Peter Weber, The Week US
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.