Russia-Ukraine live updates: World reacts to fire at major nuclear plant; Russia claims it wasn’t an attack

The U.S. State Department sent an “URGENT” memo to every U.S. embassy in Europe on Friday, warning them not to retweet or share a post from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv that called Russia’s attack on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant a “war crime.”

The memo, obtained by The Washington Post, instructs the embassies, “If you have retweeted it — un-re-tweet it ASAP.”

A Russian projectile ignited a fire at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine overnight, causing widespread alarm but triggering no release of radioactive material. Russian forces seized the plant early Friday.

The tweet, which was not deleted as of Friday afternoon in the United States, said, “It is a war crime to attack a nuclear power plant.”

When asked about the memo, a State Department spokeswoman said U.S. officials were still determining if the attack on the plant was intentional.

“The intentional targeting of civilians or civilian objects, including nuclear power plants, is a war crime, and we are assessing the circumstances of this operation,” the spokeswoman said. “But — regardless of the legality — this action was the height of irresponsibility, and the Kremlin must cease operations around nuclear infrastructure.”

Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, warned of the “risks that we may all incur” if fighting around nuclear sites rages on.

NBC News first reported on the memo.

Emergency recovery work is starting in Enerhodar, a city in southeastern Ukraine that is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the mayor said in a Telegram message Friday.

Mayor Dmytro Orlov said Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant specialists are working to repair a damaged thermal energy pipeline. The pipeline’s proximity to the plant was not clear.

Russia seized the plant Friday as troops encircled cities across the coastal south. The International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna said Ukrainian officials informed them that a projectile hit a training building in the vicinity of one of the plant’s reactor units. That caused a localized fire that sparked alarm but triggered no release of radioactive material.

Damage to the pipeline has made it “impossible” to supply thermal energy in the city, Orlov said, estimating that heat will be restored by Saturday. Forecasts show temperatures are expected to dip below freezing in the coming days.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Friday that the “world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe” with the strike and thanked Ukrainian operators for keeping nuclear reactors safe.

“Russia’s attack last night put Europe’s largest nuclear power plant at grave risk," she said. “It was incredibly reckless and dangerous."

The White House said Friday that it is conducting an “internal review” to collect evidence and data on Russia’s attacks on civilian areas in Ukraine to determine whether Russia has committed war crimes.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki mentioned the review in response to a reporter’s question about a tweet by the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv that called Russia’s attack on a nuclear power plant a “war crime.”

“What I will say is that the intentional targeting of civilians or civilian objects would be considered a war crime — even as we are assessing that,” Psaki told reporters, referring to the administration’s legal review of Russia’s actions in Ukraine. “Regardless of the legality, this action was the height of irresponsibility. The Kremlin must cease operations around nuclear infrastructure, and we have, of course, remaining concerns.”

Psaki added that “the best step for nuclear safety would be for Russia to immediately withdraw its forces around the facility.”

Karim Khan, the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, said his office had received referrals from 39 countries as of Wednesday regarding the situation in Ukraine. Neither Ukraine nor Russia is a party to the court, so neither can bring allegations to prosecutors. But Ukraine has twice accepted the court’s jurisdiction over its territory — and other countries can refer alleged crimes there to the court.

Psaki said Friday that the Biden administration “would provide any information through our own process that became available to all of the international entities that are looking into and exploring this exact question” of alleged war crimes.

One week ago, a Washington Post-ABC News poll found that a 67 percent majority of Americans supported the U.S. and European allies imposing sanctions on Russia for its military invasion of Ukraine. But that finding came with a caveat: Support dropped to 51 percent if the sanctions led to higher energy prices in the United States.

A separate poll by the Economist and YouGov conducted a few days later found a smaller 40 percent supported additional sanctions on Russia if it caused gas prices in the United States to rise.

But after another week of Russian attacks in Ukraine, national polls show that the public has unified more in support for sanctions against Russia, and one survey finds that a clear majority are willing to absorb higher prices at the pump.

Ukrainian defense authorities said they repelled an ambush by Russian forces Thursday in Hostomel, a town approximately 20 miles northwest of the capital, Kyiv.

Several graphic videos and images captured burned Russian military vehicles — including one with a tire still on fire — strewn about an intersection near a glass factory. The Washington Post verified the visuals with older photos of the area. Additionally, “V” is written on the side of the vehicles, a marker used by a branch of the Russian military. Ukrainian authorities said special forces and “local resistance groups” led the battle.

At least four Ukrainian soldiers stand guard at a skirmish site. Dead soldiers are inside the vehicles and on the street. Men dressed in civilian clothing observe the carnage. Weapons are laid out in a row on the sidewalk.

In a Twitter post Thursday, the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry wrote that at least 20 enemy combat vehicles were destroyed in the skirmish. The city is under Ukrainian control, the directorate in a statement posted to Facebook that included graphic images of dead soldiers.

About four miles north of the factory, in a video published Friday, a reporter for Russian state broadcaster Channel One winces at the sound of explosions and stands in front of a damaged hangar and the remains of the largest aircraft in the world, the Antonov An-225 Mriya. She claims that the plane, stationed at Antonov Airport, was damaged by Ukrainian shelling.

The Ukraine minister of foreign affairs had previously said Russian attacks destroyed the Mriya, according to a Twitter post from last month.

The airport was the site of heavy fighting Feb. 24 as Russian forces fought for control over the site.

Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations on Friday defended his country’s attack on a Ukrainian nuclear power plant, denying reports that the Russian military shelled it.

At a meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York, diplomats from around the world urged Russia and Ukraine to continue negotiations and stop the fighting that has raged in Ukraine since the invasion began more than a week ago. Much of their attention was on the aftermath of Russia seizing the Zaporizhzhia facility, Europe’s largest nuclear plant, in southeastern Ukraine. A Russian projectile hit the plant overnight, igniting a fire that caused widespread alarm but triggered no release of radioactive material.

After delegates from countries such as the United States, Britain and France condemned the attack, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said the discussion of the nuclear plant attack at the meeting was “another attempt from Kyiv authorities to create artificial hysteria related to the situation in Ukraine.”

“All of this is a false information attack, as if Russia had fired against the power plant,” Nebenzya said.

Nebenzya followed up by saying the Russian military was actually protecting the plant and the surrounding area.

“The Zaporizhzhia power plant and the surrounding areas has been placed under the protection of the Russian military, and that is the case at this point,” he said.

The ambassador echoed talking points of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who earlier in the day called for the “normalization” of relations with other states following wide-ranging, extensive sanctions on Russia from the international community. Meanwhile, critics such as Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, labeled Russia’s actions on the nuclear plant “incredibly reckless and dangerous.”

“It threatened the safety of civilians across Russia, Ukraine and Europe,” she said.

Russia’s Internet censor on Friday announced that it would block access to Facebook, following days of escalating pressure on the social network.

The Roskomnadzor, the country’s Internet censorship agency, announced the decision in a Telegram post, where it accused Facebook of violating laws by blocking the free flow of information to Russia and Russian media on its platform.

The move is an escalation from last week, when the agency said it would slow traffic to the platforms, which are owned by California-based Meta.

Meta president for global affairs Nick Clegg confirmed last week that the company’s service had been slowed in response to the company’s fact-checking of Russian state media.

The company did not immediately respond to the Friday announcement.

Russian and Belarusian gymnasts are banned indefinitely from competing in competitions because of the invasion of Ukraine, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) announced Friday.

All “Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials, including judges” will not be allowed to participate in competitions starting Monday, according to the FIG. The gymnastics body had previously announced emergency measures against gymnasts from Russia and Belarus shortly after the invasion began. Belarus, a close ally of Russia, is where Russian troops were deployed ahead of the invasion.

“The FIG would like to stress that these exceptional and emergency measures are decided and issued in view of the … extraordinary circumstances,