Ukraine has claimed that Russian troops occupying the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant planted bombs on the facility’s roof in preparation for imminent sabotage – at the same time as Moscow accused Kiev of planning a “false flag” attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his late-night speech on Tuesday that he told France’s Emmanuel Macron in a phone call about Russian “dangerous provocations” at a facility in southeastern Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin’s forces took control of Zaporizhia, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, in the early days of the invasion in February 2022 and have been in Russian hands for the last 16 months.
The 2 sides often exchanged accusations of shelling power plants and the risk of a nuclear catastrophe.
The Ukrainian military issued a statement on Tuesday, citing “operational data” saying that “explosive devices” were placed on the roof of the third and fourth reactors in Zaporizhia on Tuesday and that an attack was possible “in the near future.”
“In the event that they are detonated, they’ll not damage the reactors, but will create a picture of shelling from the Ukrainian side,” the statement published on Telegram reads. He added that the Ukrainian army is “able to act under any circumstances.”
In his video speech, Zelensky accused Russia of planning “to simulate an attack on the power plant. Or they may have another scenario.
“But in any case, the world sees – and can’t fail to notice – that the only source of danger to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant is Russia. And nobody else, he added.
Zelensky recalled that “radiation is a threat to everyone in the world, and a nuclear power plant should be fully protected against any radiation incidents.”
Russia responded to Ukraine’s worrying reports by accusing Kiev of planning an act of sabotage at the power plant.
Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Rosenergoatom, the state-owned company that operates Russia’s nuclear network, claimed that Ukraine planned to drop a “dirty bomb” on Zaporizhia containing nuclear waste taken from one other of the country’s five nuclear power plants.
“Under the cover of darkness on the night of July 5, the Ukrainian military will attempt to attack the Zaporozhye station using long-range precision equipment and kamikaze combat drones,” Russian news agencies quoted by Karchaa.
Neither Zelensky nor Karchaa provided any evidence to support their claims about the duels.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that the consequences of the Ukrainian attack on the power plant may very well be catastrophic.
“The situation is kind of tense because there’s indeed a high risk of sabotage by the Kiev regime, which could have catastrophic consequences,” he said.
“The Kiev regime has repeatedly demonstrated its readiness to do anything. Due to this fact, all measures are being taken to counteract such a threat,” Peskov added.
The escalating situation around the nuclear power plant has led to an exodus of terrified Ukrainians from the country, and queues at border crossings with neighboring Moldova stretch for 2 miles, reported Sky News.
The IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, has been attempting to secure an agreement on the demilitarization of the Zaporozhye plant for greater than a yr, but without success.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has visited the Russian-controlled facility 3 times since the occupation, but failed to achieve any agreement on protecting the facility from shelling.
A senior associate of Zelensky, Mykhailo Podoliak, told Ukrainian television that Grossi had proved ineffective in attempting to ensure the safety of the plant.
“Any catastrophe in Zaporozhye might have been prevented if [Grossi had been] clear instantly,” said Podoliak, accusing the IAEA of chaotic approach to the problem. “I mean, as an alternative of the clowning that this man does. And when there’s a disaster, he’ll say that they’d nothing to do with it and warned of the danger.”
With postal wires