New tensions around the Zaporijia power plant. On Tuesday, kyiv accused Moscow of fomenting a “provocation” at the nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. The building is occupied by Russian troops. Russia claims that Ukraine is planning an “attack” on the facility.
The Ukrainian military warned of “the possible preparation of a provocation on the territory of the Zaporizhia power plant in the near future”. A warning transmitted in a call made during the evening to French President Emmanuel Macron by Volodymyr Zelensky. Ukraine considers that “objects similar to explosive devices were placed on the outer roof of reactors 3 and 4”.
In Moscow, an adviser to Russian nuclear giant Rosatom, Renat Karchaa, accused kyiv of plotting an “attack” on the plant. “Today we received information that I am authorized to reveal. On July 5, during the night, in complete darkness, the Ukrainian army will try to attack the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia,” the adviser told Russian television. The latter assures that kyiv has planned to use “long-range precision weapons” and drones.
The destruction in May of the Kakhovka dam, located in the southern zone occupied by Russia, raised concerns about the sustainability of the basin used to cool the plant’s six reactors.
On June 22, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of plotting a “terrorist attack” involving a “radiation” leak at the Zaporizhia power plant, a charge immediately dismissed as a “lie” by the Kremlin.
