Russia-Ukraine war: Hundreds were evacuated from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility location

Two unnamed cities in the area saw a nearly 1,700 person evacuation as a result of Russia intensifying its assaults against Ukraine.

According to a Moscow-installed official, 1,679 people, including 660 children, were evacuated close to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.

On Saturday, the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog issued a warning that the environment around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant had become “potentially dangerous” as Russian authorities started evacuating residents from the vicinity.

A long-awaited counteroffensive by Ukraine to reclaim territory controlled by Russia, especially in the Zaporizhia region, is slated to begin soon.

Yevgeny Balitsky, the territory’s newly installed Russian governor, announced on his Telegram messaging channel that “[the evacuees] have already been placed in the temporary accommodation center for residents of the front-line territories of the Zaporizhia region in Berdiansk.”

Since the beginning of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Sea of Azov coast and the port city of Berdiansk in southeast Ukraine have been under Russian control.