Russia is reportedly preparing a ‘large-scale operation’ involving the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine to disrupt an imminent Ukrainian counter-offensive, Kiev authorities claim, without providing evidence to support their claims.
A statement released Friday by the Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Russian forces will strike the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, and then report a radioactive leak to trigger an international investigation.
By doing so, hostilities will be put on hold in the region, giving the Russians the breathing space they need to regroup and prepare before the counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces.
In order to carry out its plan, Russia has “disrupted the movement of the personnel of the permanent monitoring mission” of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the United Nations, which were planned for Saturday, according to the press release. Ukrainians.
In response to a query from The Associated Press, the IAEA said by email that it had no comment on the allegations. Russian officials also did not immediately comment on the Ukrainian allegations.
This warning from Ukraine mirrors similar statements Moscow regularly makes, alleging without evidence that kyiv is plotting provocations involving various weapons or dangerous substances in order to then accuse Russia of war crimes.
This situation comes as the Moscow army in Ukraine prepares to face an imminent counter-offensive by Kyiv forces, which has not yet begun.
This operation of the Ukrainian forces is not yet in motion, but could begin “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week”, according to the secretary of the Ukrainian Council for National Security and Defense, Oleksiy Danilov.
The Zaporizhia power plant is one of the 10 largest nuclear power plants in the world. It is located in the partially occupied region of Zaporizhia, in southeastern Ukraine.
The plant’s six reactors have been shut down for several months, but it still needs electricity and trained personnel to operate its cooling systems and other safety features.
Fighting in the surrounding area has repeatedly interrupted the power supply to the plant, reviving fears of a potential disaster like that of Chernobyl in northern Ukraine, where a reactor has exploded in 1986.