As Moscow continues its assault on Ukraine, a Russian shell struck Europe's largest nuclear power facility, igniting a fire.

After the strike, world leaders accused Russia of risking the security of an entire continent.

The bombardment that ignited a fire at one of the plant's six reactors generated worries of a disaster on the scale of the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown that would affect all of central Europe for decades.

According to authorities, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in the eastern city of Enerhodar is currently safe; the fire has been contained; radiation levels are expected, and there have been "no victims."

The Russians currently control the power plant.

Following the attack, Prime Minister Boris Johnson called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He pledged to call an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to secure a truce.

The situation in Zaporizhzhia has been described as "gravely concerning" by Downing Street.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister's office, "both leaders agreed that Russia must immediately halt its attack on the power station and allow unrestricted access to the plant for emergency services."

"The prime minister stated that President Putin's reckless actions now directly jeopardize the security of the entire European Union. He noted that the UK would do everything possible to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.

"The prime minister stated that he would seek an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council in the coming hours and that the UK would immediately raise this issue with Russia and close allies.

"Both leaders recognized the critical nature of a ceasefire."

The attack on the nuclear plant occurred as the invasion entered its second week, and a new round of talks between Russia and Ukraine resulted in a tentative agreement to establish safe corridors for civilians to flee and humanitarian aid to be delivered.

Several hours later, Ukrainian emergency services announced the fire had been extinguished via social media.

Firefighters stated that the blaze occurred in the plant's teaching and training facility and that no one was injured.

Earlier in the night, Andriy Tuz, the plant's spokesman, told Ukrainian television that shells were dropping straight on the Zaporizhzhia plant, igniting one of the facility's six reactors.

Firefighters were unable to approach the fire due to being shot at, Mr. Tuz explained.

The attack rekindled fears that the invasion could destroy one of Ukraine's 15 nuclear reactors and trigger another emergency similar to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the world's worst nuclear disaster, which occurred just 110 kilometers (65 miles) north of the city.

Mr. Zelenskyy stated in an emotional address delivered in the middle of the night that he dreaded an explosion that would spell "the end for everyone." Europe's demise is imminent. Europe's evacuation."

"Only immediate action by Europe will bring the Russian troops to a halt," he stated.

"Do not allow Europe to perish as a result of a nuclear power plant disaster."

However, the majority of specialists saw no indication of coming tragedy.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that the incident did not affect the plant's radiation level. Neither the shelling nor the fire had resulted in any damage to "critical" equipment.

The agency noted that its Director-General Mariano Grossi had communicated the matter to Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Schmygal and its regulator and operator.

Grossi "appeals for a halt to the use of force and warns of grave danger if reactors are hit," the IAEA stated in another tweet.

Later that day, the agency tweeted that it had activated its incident and emergency response center to "full 24/7 response mode" in response to the "serious situation in Zaporizhzhia."

During the Obama administration, Jon Wolfsthal, who worked as the National Security Council's senior director for arms control and nonproliferation, said the plant's reactors are protected by massive concrete containment domes that should withstand tank and artillery fire.

However, he, too, was concerned about the possibility of a power outage at the plant, which would jeopardize the plant's ability to keep the nuclear material cold.

The mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, previously stated that Ukrainian forces were battling Russian troops on the city's outskirts. Flames and black smoke rose above the metropolis of more than 50,000 people as people streamed past smashed cars.

He stated that Russian bombardment ceased shortly before dawn, allowing civilians seeking refuge in shelters to return home. However, the population awoke without heat due to the shelling damaging the city's heating main, he explained.

Before the shelling, Ukraine's state-owned nuclear energy organization warned that a Russian military column was approaching the atomic plant. Late Thursday, loud shots and rocket fire were reported.

Later in the day, a live-streamed security video linked from the Zaporizhzhia plant's homepage showed what appeared to be armored vehicles entering the facility's parking area and putting headlights on the building where the camera was situated.

Then came what seemed to be vehicle muzzle flashes, followed by virtually simultaneous explosions in nearby buildings. Smoke rose into the frame and then dissipated.

Over the last week, Vladimir Putin's forces have conducted hundreds of missile and artillery raids on cities and other targets throughout the country, making substantial gains in the south.

Russian forces announced the conquest of Kherson, a strategic Black Seaport with a population of 280,000, and local Ukrainian officials verified the takeover of the city's government headquarters, making it the first major city to fall since the invasion began a week ago.

On Thursday, a Russian attack damaged the power plant in Okhtyrka, depriving the city of heat and electricity, the region's head announced via Telegram. In the early days of the war, Russian troops attacked a military camp in the city, located between Kharkiv and Kyiv, killing over 70 Ukrainian soldiers, according to officials.

"We're figuring out how to get people out of the city quickly because, in a matter of days, the apartment buildings will devolve into a cold stone trap devoid of water, light, or electricity," Dmytro Zhyvytskyy explained.

The heavy battle persisted on the edges of anotvitaltant port on the Azov Sea, San Mariupol. Officials say the battles had knocked out the city's electricity, heating, and water services, as well as the majority of phone service. Additionally, food deliveries to the town have been halted.

The assault, seen on video from the harbor city, illuminated the darkening sky above desolate streets, and medical workers treated victims, including a 16-year-old boy inside a clinic who could not be saved. According to his father, the child played football when he was wounded in the shelling. He cradled the boy's head on the stretcher and sobbed.

Severing Ukraine's access to the Black and Azov oceans would cripple its economy and allow Russia to construct a land corridor connecting to Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.

In general, the outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainians have put up a brave fight, defying Russia's apparent expectation of a rapid triumph. However, a senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russia's acquisition of Crimea provided it with a logistical advantage in that region, with shorter supply lines facilitating the offensive there.

Ukrainian officials urged citizens to protect their motherland by felling trees, constructing barricades in cities, and launching rear-attacks on enemy formations. Authorities have recently provided weapons to people and instructed them to build Molotov bombs.

"Total resistance.... This is our Ukrainian trump card, and this is what we can do best in the world," Mr. Zelenskyy's assistant Oleksiy Arestovich said in a video message, referring to guerrilla activities in Nazi-occupied Ukraine during World War II.

In neighboring Belarus, the second round of discussions between Ukrainian and Russian delegations occurred. However, the two sides appeared to be at odds heading into the meeting. Putin warned Ukraine that it must rapidly accept the Kremlin's demand for "demilitarisation" and declare itself neutral, abandoning its Nato membership bid.

The two sides stated they had tentatively agreed to allow ceasefires in regions designated as safe corridors and would work fast to iron out details. Additionally, a Zelenskyy adviser noted that the third round of negotiations would occur early next week.

It comes as Western ministers prepare for crisis meetings as Vladimir Putin intensifies his attack on Ukraine's cities.

Liz Truss will convene a series of meetings in Brussels with colleague foreign ministers from NATO and the European Union to demonstrate the allies' support for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Home Secretary Priti Patel is on her way to Poland's Ukrainian border to showcase the visas available to anyone escaping the crisis which has ties to the UK.

Ms. Truss will attend the EU's Foreign Affairs Council as a special guest alongside counterparts from the US, Canada, and Ukraine for the first time since Brexit.

She will also attend a unique gathering of NATO's foreign ministers and undertake bilateral meetings with G7 peers.

Ms. Truss described it as "one of the most momentous days in diplomacy," with allies prepared to "tighten the vice around Putin's war machine" through sanctions against the Russian economy.

Meanwhile, Ms. Patel will travel to Medyka, Poland's border town with Ukraine, to personally witness the situation.

Before the visit, she stated, "The British government will do everything possible to assist the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom."

The Ukraine family scheme will enable Britons and residents of the United Kingdom to bring their relatives to safety in the country.

However, the government has been pressed to establish routes for Ukrainians to enter the UK.

The West believes that Russia's president would launch a massive assault on Ukraine's biggest cities, potentially killing civilians.

On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron talked with Mr. Putin but stated that "he continues to attack Ukraine at this point."

The Russian president cautioned Ukraine to rapidly accept the Kremlin's demand for "demilitarization" and proclaim itself neutral, abandoning its Nato membership bid.

Peace talks between the two sides have thus far failed to end hostilities; however, humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to flee remain a possibility.

Kherson, a port city, became the invasion's first major city to fall.

Russian soldiers continued to pursue their offensive on many fronts, but a long column of tanks appears to have been stuck for days outside Kyiv's city.

Ukraine said that an attack on a residential area in the northern city of Chernihiv killed at least 33 civilians and injured 18.

According to a US defense official, Mr. Putin's soldiers launched more than 480 missiles during the invasion.

Western partners have escalated sanctions in response to the ongoing violence.

Meanwhile, the departure from Ukraine continued, with more than a million people fleeing the nation, a figure that could climb to four million as the fighting continues.