Russia is firing artillery from a captured nuclear power plant, leaving Ukraine reluctant to shoot back

The New York Times reported that Russian troops are firing at targets from a nuclear power plant.

Ukrainian officials told The Times that it is very difficult for Ukrainian troops to retaliate.

UK ministry of defence/Insider

Russian forces have been firing at Nikopol, a Ukrainian town across the river from the plant, since mid-July, per the Times. 

The capture of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in March caused international outrage, as fighting led to a fire at the site that raised fears that the integrity of the nuclear reactor could be threatened.

Nuclear infrastructure has been in the line of fire in the past, but the invasion of Ukraine is the first time that has happened.

Ukrainian troops were hesitant to retaliate because they were afraid that their strikes would hit one of the six reactor.

What can we do? Colonel Serhiy Shatalov asked the newspaper. The site is a nuclear one.

There have been limited attempts to attack the site by the Ukrainian army.

Dmytro Smolyenko/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images

According to experts, the risk of a nuclear accident at Zaporizhzhia is very low. That risk is raised by active conflict.

A former nuclear engineer and ex-mayor of the city that hosts the plant told The Times that only a direct hit from a powerful weapon would threaten the integrity of the radioactive core.

Experts told Insider that the conflict could damage stored nuclear waste and lead to thecontamination of the area.

Workers are stressed and unable to perform at their best because of the pressure on the usual safety processes. The workers have been tortured with electrical shocks.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has six nuclear reactor plants. Three nuclear power plants are in the country.