all right. hello again, everyone. thank you so much for joining me. i m fredericka whitfield. we begin the hour with the intensifying standoff at europe s largest nuclear plant. russia and ukraine accusing each other of endangering ukraine s zaporizhzhia facility after months of occupation. russia now says it has agreed to let international nuclear inspectors into the plant. new video shows russian military trucks inside the facility amid ongoing fighting outside. russia claims ukraine has been repeatedly shelling the area around the plant. but satellite images seen by cnn don t support those claims. cnn s sam kiley is in zaporizhzhia. sam, how volatile is this situation? reporter: it s extremely volatile in that it is an ongoing battle front. we know for a fact that the
low water levels in one of europe s major rivers are causing problems for the people and businesses that rely on it. water levels in the rhine in germany have dropped significantly in recent days. several ferry services have been brought to a standstill and it s expected levels will drop further today, potentially affecting cargo vessels. carol will have all the whether on the way in a few minutes, we have rain in the web it may be the notch type of rain. the risk of disaster at europe s largest nuclear plant is increasing every day that s the warning from the mayor of the ukrainian city where the zaporizhzhia facility is based. the plant has been occupied by russian forces since march, and has seen frequent shelling in recent days. 0ur correspondent hugo bachega is in kyiv. hugo, remind us why this plant is being so ferociously fought over.
this is bbc news, broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i m nancy kacungira. the headlines. russia steps up its bombardment of large parts of ukraine, as nato warns the conflict, is about to get worse. we ll be reporting from inside the country s second biggest city, harkeev, where residential buildings have been reduced to rubble, by constant russian shelling. europe s largest nuclear plant is shelled by russian forces overnight. the fires are under under control. ukraine says moscow is resorting to nuclear terror . translation: we need to stop | the russian military immediately. scream to your politicians. ukraine has 15 nuclear units, and if there is an explosion it is the end of everything. and at ukraine s borders, the refugee queues grow longer, more and more people are trying to flee. hello, and thank you forjoining us. the united nations security council is holding an emergency meeting to discuss the way in which russian forces captured ukraine s biggest nucl
forces captured ukraine s biggest nuclear power plant. the un s political affairs chief has said attacks on nuclear power facilities are contrary to international humanitarian law. the zaporizhzhia facility was shelled this morning triggering a fire. the authorities say the site is secure and radiation levels are normal. the ukrainian foreign ministry say several people have been killed and injured. the plant is in the south east of the country and the biggest in europe. president zelensky has accused moscow of resorting to nuclear terror and urged russians to protest. russia has escalated its air campaign against ukrainian cities throughout the last 2a hours. an official in the besieged port of mariupol has accused russia of trying to force it to surrender by creating a humanitarian crisis. he said the city was being shelled continuously. it s facing a third day without water, electricity, or proper sanitation. kharkiv in the north east has been reduced to rubble. and ukraine says a
for the fire. translator: the russian tanks knew that they were firing with a direct fire at the station. that is terror of an unprecedented level. reporter: the fire quickly fueled fears of a chernobyl-like disaster, but nuclear experts tell cnn there s no evidence of that at this stage. not all fires at a power plant have catastrophic consequences. reporter: one expert says zaporizhzhia s reactor design is inherently much safer than the one that failed at chernobyl. the international atomic energy agency says ukrainian officials report safety systems for the plant s six reactors have not been affected and there has been no release of radioactive material. but the agency s director general says he remains gravely concerned. we have to know this is an unprecedented situation. what we have is a situation which is very difficult to sustain. and what has happened tonight