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Shocking clip shows Ukrainian nuclear plant staff begging Russian troops to 'stop shooting!'

The US embassy in Kyiv declared on Friday, March 4, that Russia's shelling of a nuclear plant in Ukraine was a 'war crime'

Shocking new footage from inside Ukraine's Russian-controlled nuclear plant has captured the moment employees pleaded with Russian troops to "stop shooting."

The US embassy in Kyiv declared on Friday, March 4, that Russia's shelling of a nuclear plant in Ukraine was a "war crime." No reactors were hit during the attack, contrary to initial reports released during the fog of war, as authorities established there was ultimately no risk of a radiation leak at the time of publication. Vladimir Putin's forces began occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar following an attack, and the management at the facility is "now working at gunpoint," CNN reported.

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The disturbing footage taken from inside the plant was aired by CNN on Saturday, March 5. "We have a new video from inside a nuclear power plant as it was under fire from the Russians," CNN "New Day Weekend" co-anchor John Berman told viewers as he cued the video. "We told you about the fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that broke out after this Russian attack. This is now a look inside the plant as those shots were being fired, employees using a public address system to try to stop the Russian troops.” Employees at the plant could be heard in the video begging for Russian troops to stop shooting. "Stop shooting! You are endangering the security of the entire world!" one yelled.

Berman added that Russian troops were preparing to advance to the Yuzhnoukrainsk Nuclear Power Station in Mykolaiv Oblast after successfully seizing the Zaporizhzhia plant. Petro Kotin — head of state-owned nuclear power generator Energoatom — reportedly said that Russian forces "entered the territory of the nuclear power plant" and "took control of the personnel and management of the nuclear power plant." If the nuclear facility happened to be hit by shelling, it would definitely lead to a nuclear disaster, Kotin added.

Speaking to Fox News on Friday, a senior US defense official said that Russia was likely seeking "leverage" over Ukraine's civilian population by securing control over the nuclear power sites. "If your goal is to control population centers, if your goal is to supplant the government of Ukraine and replace it with one that that's more suitable to you, if your goal is to control Ukraine, one can surmise that you would want to control the infrastructure and to make sure that you can meter it to your needs," the defense official told the outlet in a statement, adding, "You can use your leverage in that regard to punish a population, to make it harder for that population to resist you."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian minister Dmytro Kuleba mentioned the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 while assessing the risks of firing at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "Russian army is firing from all sides upon Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. Fire has already broken out. If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl! Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!"

Zaporizhzhia, which has six nuclear reactors, generates power for more than a quarter of Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian Atomic Energy ministry, one of these six generating units was struck by Russian fire. Presently, increased levels of radiation have been detected near the site though not many details are available.