RADIATION leaks from Europe's biggest nuclear power station could spread hundreds of miles and affect 13 different countries, a terrifying new map has revealed.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine lies on a knife-edge, over fears that Russian forces will stage a false flag attack on the site.

In a map shared by Ukrainian BBC journalist Myroslava Petsa, the cloud of radiation from a potential leak at the plant can be seen spreading across Eastern Europe in the space of three days, reaching as far as the Austrian border.

A total of 13 countries could be affected by radiation leaks from Zaporizhzhia, including Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Russia.

Russia's own Ministry of Defence warned this week of a potential accident which could send radioactive waste as far as Germany.

It claimed that the plant's backup system was damaged, but blamed Ukrainian forces for nearby missile strikes.

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Thursday's warning from Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's radioactive, chemical and biological defence forces, came as tensions soar over the plant, home to six nuclear reactors.

Ukraine has claimed a nuclear catastrophe could take place at Zaporizhzhia, with the country's president Volodymyr Zelensky saying his scientists are in "constant touch" with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The plant has been in the hands of Putin's forces since the early stages of the Ukraine war, but nuclear inspectors say they have not been permitted inside.

In March, Ukraine warned of a nuclear disaster "10 times larger than Chernobyl" after Russian forces shelled the plant from the nearby city of Enerhodar.

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The Chernobyl nuclear leak in 1986 was the worst manmade disaster in history, contaminating 150,000 square kilometres of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

Radiation was detected as far away as the north of Scotland, with rain bringing the highest doses to Cumbria in northern England and the Welsh counties of Clwyd and Gwynedd.

Almost 9,000 British farms were affected by the fallout from Chernobyl, with sheep in Wales still failing radioactive tests a decade on from the disaster.

Some studies even linked increased cases of infant leukaemia in Britain to Chernobyl, although results were not conclusive.

Any potential damage to Zaporizhzhia is suicide

Fears are growing of a potential "provocation" attack on the Zaporizhzhia plant today after Russia reportedly ordered its staff not to show up for work on Friday.

Around 500 Russian troops from the Rosgvardia, Putin's personal guard, are currently stationed at the plant, along with some 20 Kremlin nuclear specialists.

Several hundred Ukrainian employees are also still working at the plant.

Ukraine's military intelligence has warned of the added dangers posed by the huge amount of Russian weaponry currently being stored at the nuclear plant.

Drone footage released by Ukraine shows Russian armoured fighting vehicles and ammunition trucks being moved into the reactor turbine halls, in an apparent attempt to use them as a shield.

The Times previously reported that Russian forces have staged false-flag attacks to cut off the plant from Ukraine's electricity grid and erode support in the West for Zelensky.

Russia has already threatened to shut down the plant – which provides electricity to Europe – putting millions in the surrounding area at risk of power cuts as it deploys heavy weapons to the site.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's main military intelligence branch, said workers for Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom have been told not to come in.

Turkey's President Erdogan, making his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the war, claimed he was "worried" about the situation at Zaporizhzhia, adding: "We don't want another Chernobyl."

He was meeting with UN chief Antonio Guterres in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, who also issued a stark warning.

"We must tell it like it is," he said. "Any potential damage to Zaporizhzhia is suicide."

For its part, Russia blames attacks close to the plant on Ukrainian shelling.

On Friday, the head of the Russian Security Council Nicola Patrushev claimed Ukrainian forces are attacking Zaporizhzhia on the orders of the US.

"At the suggestion of the Americans, the Ukrainians are constantly attacking the critical infrastructure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant," he said, as quoted by Russian state media agency TASS.

"If a man-made disaster occurs, its consequences will be felt in all corners of the world."

Russian officials have claimed that their forces cannot leave the plant as their air defence systems are protecting it from disaster.

As reported by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, official Vladimir Rogov claimed: "Today only Russian air defense systems and only Russian soldiers protect the nuclear power plant from destruction and irreparable consequences, from a man-made disaster and from everything that humanity will have to deal with for decades."

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Russia's Permanent Representative to the IAEA claimed that the actions of the West in Zaporizhzhia show that they don't care for nuclear safety.

Ukraine is conducting nuclear emergency response drills in the Zaporizhzhia region as it plans for a worst-case scenario leak.

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