Russia accuses Ukraine of firing on occupied nuclear plant and says a ‘European-wide catastrophe’ was avoided ‘by luck’ when reactor cooling tank was narrowly missed
- Russia claimed Ukrainian drones struck the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
- Moscow accused Ukraine of creating ‘conditions for a nuclear disaster’
- Kyiv today accused Moscow of storing heavy weapons in the nuclear plant
Russia today accused Ukraine of firing on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Moscow-occupied territory, claiming a ‘European-wide catastrophe’ was narrowly avoided ‘by luck’.
Moscow claimed Ukrainian drones struck the nuclear power plant – the largest in Europe – on Wednesday just yards away from a reactor cooling tank.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said: ‘It was only by luck that this did not lead to damage to the equipment and to a man-made catastrophe.’
She accused Kyiv of seeking to create ‘conditions for a nuclear disaster, not only on its territory, but throughout Europe.’
Russian troops took control of the Zaporizhzhia plant in southeast Ukraine in March, early in their Ukraine offensive.
Moscow claimed Ukrainian drones struck the nuclear power plant – the largest in Europe – on Wednesday just yards away from a reactor cooling tank. Pictured: Smoke rises into the air after Ukraine reportedly hit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
Russia today accused Ukraine of firing on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Moscow-occupied territory
Russia accused Ukraine of firing on occupied nuclear plant, with some of the apparent damage pictured here in photographs published by Russian state media
Zakharova said Ukrainian forces had fired on it twice this week – on July 18 and July 20 – from a drone.
But Kyiv today accused Moscow of storing heavy weapons in the nuclear plant and said it came at the expense of fire safety norms and that if Russian ammunition is accidentally ignited, the consequences would be disastrous.
Ukraine state energy company Energoatom said on social media that Russia had moved over two dozen pieces of military equipment and ammunition into the engine room of the first reactor.
‘The occupiers continue to cynically violate all norms and requirements regarding fire, nuclear and radiation safety of the NPP operation, keeping heavy military equipment, ammunition, weapons and explosives just in the engine room of the power unit of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,’ Energoatom said.
‘If a fire occurs, for example, due to the accidental detonation of ammunition, then its scale could be equal to the one that occurred during the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’ in 1986, Energoatom said.
A Russian serviceman patrols the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station on May 1
Moscow-installed authorities in the part of Zaporizhzhia region controlled by Russian troops earlier accused Ukraine of ‘nuclear terrorism’ and said they would appeal to the United Nations.
The UN’s nuclear watchdog said last month that it was planning to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, despite Kyiv opposing any such visit while Russian forces remain in control.
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s nuclear power operator said it had re-established its connection to surveillance systems at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
It was the second time communications had been lost with the plant, made up of six reactors.
Energoatom agency said on its Telegram channel that it had restored the connection ‘by its own efforts’.
The link, it said, had been lost ‘due to the cutting off by the occupiers in Enerhodar of all Ukrainian mobile operators, including Vodavone, with which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a contract for data transmission.’
The IAEA, the UN’s atomic watchdog had said earlier that the loss of communication links ‘only adds to the urgency to dispatch this mission’ to Zaporizhzhia.
It said the connection had been lost ‘due to a disruption of the facility’s communication systems’.
A Russian deputy prime minister last month said Moscow hoped to connect the plant to the Russian energy grid, but Ukrainian officials said it would take years to link the station to Russia.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko says Russia, Ukraine and West MUST agree to stop war to avoid ‘abyss of nuclear war’
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Russia, Ukraine and the West must all agree to halt the conflict in Ukraine to avoid the ‘abyss of nuclear war.’
‘We must stop, reach an agreement, end this mess, operation and war in Ukraine,’ Lukashenko, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top ally, told AFP in an exclusive interview in Minsk.
‘Let’s stop and then we will figure out how to go on living… There’s no need to go further. Further lies the abyss of nuclear war. There’s no need to go there.’
Lukashenko accused the West of seeking a conflict with Russia and of provoking the Ukraine war.
‘You have fomented the war and are continuing it,’ he said.
‘We have seen the reasons for this war,’ he added.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday that Russia, Ukraine and the West must all agree to halt the conflict in Ukraine to avoid the ‘abyss of nuclear war’
‘If Russia had not got ahead of you, members of NATO, you would have organized and struck a blow against it,’ he said, echoing Putin.
Belarus has served as a staging ground for Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, but Lukashenko has so far avoided becoming a party to the conflict.
Analysts say that he is keenly aware of the fact that most Belarusians do not support sending troops into Ukraine.
The 67-year-old leader, who has ruled Belarus for nearly three decades, insisted that Kyiv authorities can end the war if they re-start talks with Moscow and accept its demands.
‘Everything depends on Ukraine,’ he said.
‘Right now, the peculiarity of the moment is that this war can be ended on more acceptable terms for Ukraine.’
Pro-russian mayor of Energodar Andrey Shevtchik (C) walks past the Russian occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southeastern Ukraine on May 1
Rescuers and servicemen work at a school building damaged by a Russian military strike, amid Russia’s invasion on Ukraine, in Kramatorsk, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Thursday
He urged Kyiv authorities to ‘sit down at the negotiating table and agree that they will never threaten Russia.’
Talks between Russia and Ukraine largely ground to a halt in mid-April.
Lukashenko said that Ukraine must accept the loss of regions occupied by Russia in eastern and southern Ukraine.
‘This is no longer being discussed,’ he said. ‘One could have discussed this in February or March.’
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that peace talks with Ukraine ‘make no sense’ and announced that Moscow’s military aims in the pro-Western country were no longer focused ‘only’ on the east.
Lukashenko has sought to promote himself as Putin’s most faithful ally, welcoming Russian troops under the pretext of military exercises before Moscow launched its Ukraine offensive.
Despite officially being a non-belligerent, the Belarus strongman has demanded that his country be included in any talks and a deal to end the conflict.
Lukashenko insisted that the war could have been avoided if Western countries had given Putin ‘the security guarantees’ he wanted.
‘You, members of NATO and Americans, needed war.’
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