Lithuanian president calls Russia's attacks on Ukraine's power plants "nuclear terrorism"

VILNIUS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda on Friday called attacks by Russian forces on Ukraine's nuclear power plants "nuclear terrorism".

"Russia's attacks on civil nuclear facilities in #Ukraine are an act of nuclear terrorism& a crime against humanity. Ostrovets NPP in #Belarus, on the border of Lithuania, can be turned into a weapon by Russia too," the president tweeted on Friday.

Hel also called for immediate international response to "Russia's nuclear crimes".

Earlier on Friday, Ukrainian emergency services said Russian forces attacked Europe's largest nuclear facility, and a fire broke out. A regional military administration's statement later said the fire was extinguished and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant's 1st reactor unit was damaged but that has no impact n the block's safety.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier on Friday accused Moscow of resorting to "nuclear terrorism" and trying to "repeat" the Chernobyl disaster.

During the two-week war, Russian forces have also seized the control of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.