Worries grow about Ukraine nuke plant amid evacuations

By DAVID RISING
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Anxiety about the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is growing after the Moscow-installed governor of the Ukrainian region where it is located ordered civilian evacuations. The Russia-backed governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia province told civilians to leave 18 communities, including the city where most plant workers live. He said Sunday that more than 1,500 people already had been evacuated from two unspecified cities. International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi says the evacuations near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant suggest the situation in the region “is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous.” His agency has warned that the war in Ukraine poses the risk of a radiation disaster.