MELITOPOL, September 17. /TASS/. Ukrainian authorities will be the first to leave the country in the event of a disaster at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), leaving civilians to fend for themselves, Zaporozhye Regional Legislative Assembly Deputy and Deputy Chairman of the Defense, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Situations Committee Sergey Yurchenko told TASS.

"All Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky, will flee the country within hours if a disaster occurs at the ZNPP. Civilians will be left to their own fate. I don’t even know where they could hide from the consequences of such a disaster. We remember well the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster," Yurchenko said.

On Tuesday, TASS reported that Ukraine's troops shelled an area approximately 400 meters from the ZNPP’s fuel storage facilities, causing a fire.