KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces pressed their offensive against key Ukrainian cities Friday in a heavy bombing and shelling campaign that has led to an unfolding humanitarian disaster, spurred an astonishing exodus of people and raised fears of a wider calamity after Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant was set ablaze.
Authorities said Friday morning that local firefighters had extinguished the fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear complex in the southeastern city of Enerhodar and that there had been no release of radioactive material. The facility has been seized by Russian forces, officials said, but its local staff continues to operate the plant and is inspecting it for damage.
None of the site’s six reactors — only one of which was in use, at about 60% capacity — was damaged, said Rafael Mariano Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Geneva.
