2019 Photo Shared as Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant Explosion in Ukraine
The Claim
A photo shows a fire breaking out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant site in Ukraine, which was caused by Russian bombing.
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Emerging story
Social media users have recently shared a photo purporting to show a fire engulfing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, which they claim was caused by Russian bombing.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the circulated claim and discovered it to be misleading. The photo is old and does not depict a fire breaking out at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The photo circulating was taken in August 2019 and shows an explosion near Achinsk in Russia's Krasnoyarsk region.
The widely circulated claim came amid the Russian bombing of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Friday, March 4, which caused a fire that damaged a training building and a laboratory but caused no radiation leakage, according to the Ukrainian Nuclear Site Inspection Agency. The military administration in Zaporizhzhia's head also stated that the nuclear power plant's director declared the facility's nuclear safety guarantee.
Translated by Wesam Abo Marq
