This representative image shows a serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform standing guard near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in the course of the conflict between Ukraine and Russia on the outskirts of the town of Enerhodar in Zaporizhia region, Ukraine, August 4, 2022. — Reuters
Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of planning an attack on a nuclear power plant in the Kursk region where President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's troops have moved in, blaming Moscow for the “provocation.” Interfax The news agency said.
Kyiv denied that it was “senseless” propaganda.
Ukraine launched an incursion into Russia's western Kursk region on August 6 in an attempt to turn the tide of the two-and-a-half-year war in its favour following Moscow's invasion in 2022.
Russia's defence ministry said it would respond harshly to any attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant, which remains under its control, Interfax reported. It offered no evidence for its accusation against Ukraine, but said a large surrounding area could be contaminated by an attack.
“We are witnessing a new surge in insane Russian propaganda about alleged Ukrainian plans to use 'dirty bombs' or attack nuclear plants. We officially reject these false claims,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi told X.
“Ukraine has neither the intention nor the ability to take such measures.”
Russia's state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, which also runs the Russian-controlled Zaporizhia plant in Ukraine, also accused Kiev of threatening the security of both plants. ESTUARY The news agency said, without offering any evidence.
Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev discussed the situation over the phone with IAEA head Rafael Grossi and invited him to visit the Kursk plant. ESTUARY aggregate.
Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of trying to sabotage the operation of the Zaporizhia plant, Europe's largest, in southeastern Ukraine.
It is shut down, but needs external power to keep its nuclear material cold and prevent a meltdown.
