The provocations are becoming ever more acute: Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of plotting to attack the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Selenskyj adviser Podoljak criticized the IAEA: Efforts to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant were unsuccessful.
Moscow and Kiev have accused each other of an allegedly imminent attack on Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. “We now have information from our secret service that the Russian military has placed objects resembling explosives on the roofs of several reactor blocks of the Zaporizhia NPP,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his daily video address.
According to the situation report of the Ukrainian General Staff, the explosive devices were attached to the roofs of the third and fourth reactor blocks, but were probably not intended to damage the reactors themselves. At the same time, the military leadership in Kiev emphasized that Ukraine would not violate the norms of international law. An attack on the power plant could possibly be simulated and Ukraine accused of being the mastermind.
Zelenskyj called for international pressure on Russia to prevent this. In a telephone call, he warned his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron against “dangerous provocations” by Russia at the nuclear power plant.
provocations ever sharper
Moscow, on the other hand, said the Ukrainian armed forces themselves were planning an attack on the nuclear power plant, which is close to the front. As early as Wednesday night, the armed forces would try to attack the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant with rockets and drones, Renat Karchaa, adviser to the head of the Russian atomic energy agency Rosenergoatom, claimed on state television on Tuesday.
At the same time, a bomb loaded with nuclear waste was to be dropped. The high-ranking Moscow official did not provide any evidence for the accusation, nor did the Ukrainian side.
Although both warring parties have repeatedly accused each other of planned provocations related to the power plant, the accusations have become increasingly severe in recent weeks.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
Training for emergencies
Rescue workers in the regions around the Ukrainian cities of Cherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia and Dnipro have recently been training for a possible nuclear emergency. Russian troops have occupied the Zaporizhia power plant in southern Ukraine since March 2022.
The huge complex came under fire several times during the fighting, fueling international concerns about a nuclear catastrophe. For safety reasons, the nuclear power plant has now been shut down. An observer mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is on site.
Allegations against the IAEA
The Zelenskyj adviser Mykhailo Podoliak sharply criticized the head of the IAEA. Rafael Grossi’s efforts to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant had had no effect.
The IAEA would have turned around in an attempt to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant. Grossi would have been “joking around” instead of making the IAEA’s position clear from the start. “And if there is a catastrophe, then he will say that they had nothing to do with it and yes they warned of all dangers.”
Kachowka Dam destroyed last
On June 6, an explosion destroyed the Kachowka Dam, causing huge masses of water to pour out of the adjacent reservoir and flood hundreds of towns and villages. The Ukrainian side is convinced that Russia deliberately blew up the structure that supplies cooling water to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
Many international experts also believe that this is likely, but Moscow denies it and in turn accuses Kiev of the crime.