During the night of 3 March and the early morning of 4 March, heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces set fire to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor in Southern Ukraine.
Intense fighting was captured on a livestream, which broadcast to the world scenes in real time of the battle for the power plant and its surrounds.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, at some point during the battle Russian artillery hit the area around the plant and started a fire. It remains unclear if this was accidental or deliberate. The Russian military blamed the fire on Ukrainian saboteurs.
The fire consumed a training centre but did not affect the operation or safety of the plant, according to the plant’s owners, the state-owned power company, Energoatom. The fire was extinguished this morning.
The fire has sparked fears across the world that the war could have even more serious repercussions for nations beyond Russia and Ukraine.