China broke its silence on Russia's invasion to say it is 'gravely concerned' about Ukraine's nuclear plants after Russia attacked one

• Russian forces attacked Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Friday.
• It prompted China to say it was "gravely concerned" about Ukraine's nuclear safety.

China broke its silence on Ukraine to say it is "gravely concerned" about the safety of Ukraine's nuclear plants after Russia attacked one on Friday.

Russian forces attacked and later seized Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant early Friday morning. Ukrainian officials said the attack caused a fire that was later subdued, and that radiation levels were stable.

The attack prompted the Chinese foreign ministry to say it was concerned about Ukraine's nuclear safety and to urge "calm and restraint" by Russian forces, marking a departure from China's overall avoidance to comment on Russia's actions in Ukraine so far.

"China attaches great importance to nuclear safety and is gravely concerned about the safety and security situation of nuclear facilities in Ukraine," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a Friday press conference.

"We will continue to closely monitor the developments of the situation, and call on relevant parties to keep calm and exercise restraint, prevent further escalation of the situation and ensure the safety of relevant nuclear facilities."

China is one of the nine countries in the world recorded to have nuclear weapons.

Beijing has avoided outright condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin since he launched a full invasion into Ukraine.

Earlier this week, China abstained on voting at the United Nations to sanction Russia and demand the withdrawal of Russian troops. Last week, it also criticized Western nations for imposing sanctions on Russia over the invasion, saying that punishment never works.

That being said, China has appeared to distance itself from Russia in recent days.

On Monday, Wang told reporters that China and Russia were "comprehensive strategic partners of coordination" — a notable change from the Chinese foreign ministry's announcement just last year that the two countries were "better than allies."

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also told his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, that China "regrets" the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to a Chinese foreign ministry readout.