Ukrainian President Volydymyr Zelenskyy has survived three assasination attempts since Russia's incursion inUkraine began, Britain's Times reported Friday morning.
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According to the report, two different groups - the Kremlin-backed Wagner group and special forces from Chechnya, were dispatched to kill Zelenskyy, and both were thwarted by Russia's Federal Security Service.
Earlier Friday, Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia plant, which provides more than a fifth of total electricity generated in Ukraine, local Ukrainian officials said.
Earlier, Ukraine's state emergency services said that a fire that broke out in a training building near the largest nuclear power plant in Europe during intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces had been extinguished.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said there was no indication of elevated radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia plant. Ukraine's state nuclear regulator earlier said that no changes in radiation levels have been recorded so far after the Zaporizhzhia plant came under attack, and International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi later said no radioactive material was released, but that two people had been injured in the fire that broke out at the plant.
Earlier, a video feed from the plant verified by Reuters showed shelling and smoke rising near a five-story building at the plant compound.
"Europeans, please wake up. Tell your politicians – Russian troops are shooting at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address.
Russian forces shelled the nuclear plant early Friday, sparking a fire as they pressed their attack on a crucial energy-producing Ukrainian city and gained ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea.
Leading nuclear authorities were concerned – but not panicked – about the damage to the power station. The assault triggered phone calls between Zelenskyy and US President Joe Biden and other world leaders. The US Department of Energy activated its nuclear incident response team as a precaution.
The attack on the eastern city of Enerhodar and its Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant unfolded as the invasion entered its second week and another round of talks between the two sides yielded a tentative agreement to set up safe corridors to evacuate citizens and deliver humanitarian aid.
Nuclear plant spokesman Andriy Tuz told Ukrainian television that shells were falling directly on the facility and had set fire to one of its six reactors. That reactor is under renovation and not operating, but there is nuclear fuel inside, he said.
Firefighters cannot get near the flames because they were being shot at, he said, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted a plea to the Russians to stop the assault and allow fire teams inside.
"We demand that they stop the heavy weapons fire," Tuz said in a video statement. "There is a real threat of nuclear danger in the biggest atomic energy station in Europe." The assault renewed fears that the invasion could damage one of Ukraine's 15 nuclear reactors and set off another emergency like the 1986 Chernobyl accident, the world's worst nuclear disaster, which happened about 110 kilometers (65 miles) north of the capital.
Granholm tweeted that the Zaporizhzhia plant's reactors were protected by robust containment structures and were being safely shut down.
In an emotional speech in the middle of the night, Zelenskyy said he feared an explosion that would be "the end for everyone. The end for Europe. The evacuation of Europe."
"Only urgent action by Europe can stop the Russian troops," he said. "Do not allow the death of Europe from a catastrophe at a nuclear power station."
But most experts saw nothing to indicate an impending disaster.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said the fire had not affected essential equipment and that Ukraine's nuclear regulator reported no change in radiation levels. The American Nuclear Society concurred, saying that the latest radiation levels remained within natural background levels.
"The real threat to Ukrainian lives continues to be the violent invasion and bombing of their country," the group said in a statement.
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At around noon on Friday, the Russian parliament passed a bill introducing sentences of up to 15 years in prison for intentionally spreading "fake" information about military action. Russian state news agencies reported Friday the passing of the bill in the third and final reading.
The development came amid a crackdown by Russian authorities on independent media and criticism of last week's invasion of Ukraine.
The bill now heads to the upper house of parliament, whose approval is expected to be a formality, before President Vladimir Putin can sign it into law. Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin says it may enter into force as early as Saturday.
Spreading what Russian authorities deem to be false information is punishable by up to three years in prison, or 15 years if it is deemed to have "severe consequences." The bill also bans calling for sanctions to be implemented against Russia.
Less than two hours after the bill was passed, news website Znak said it was shutting down, citing "the large number of restrictions which have appeared recently affecting the work of media in Russia."
Russia's top independent radio station Ekho Moskvy was closed Thursday and independent TV station Dozdh ceased operations after receiving a threat of closure from the authorities.
