Russian forces have never mined anything for nothing: officer Lapin on high threat of explosion at Europe’s largest nuclear plant

He said this on Espreso TV.

"The situation with ZNPP is similar to the one with Kakhovka HPP, and I have repeated this many times. In particular, if the Russians have brought in and mined a nuclear power plant, they will not just look at the explosives. There has never been a situation where the Russians mined something and then cleared it and left. This is a fact that has never been refuted. They will blow up ZNPP. That is why the situation with ZNPP is very serious," Lapin explained.

The Armed Forces officer emphasized that the reaction of Western partners to the mining of the ZNPP should be tougher.

"I find the reaction of Western partners to ZNPP very strange. They reacted very weakly to the technological disaster with the Kakhovka HPP. Amid the ZNPP mining, even Rosatom had not been sanctioned, and the IAEA came, inspected and left. The worst thing about this is that such weakness of our partners unleashes the Russians and they are preparing to blow up the nuclear power plant," he added.

The Threat of Terrorism and the Situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant

Russians occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP in late February 2022. Since then, there has been a constant presence of personnel and military equipment, which the invaders store in machine rooms and occasionally deploy to positions for shelling the territories of the Nikopol district in the Dnipropetrovsk region, located on the other side of the Kakhovka Reservoir.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has a monitoring mission at the station, which is supposed to ensure that the nuclear power plant is not used as a military base, that it is not attacked, and that no fire is initiated from the NPP. Power outages at the nuclear power plant occur regularly though. Occupiers began importing explosives to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant last year.

It became known in May 2023 that the Russians had placed explosives in the turbine room of the  ZNPP’s fourth power unit. Additionally, the invaders have nearly completely destroyed the emergency readiness and response system at the nuclear power plant.

On June 22, the Director-General of the IAEA, after visiting ZNPP Grossi, stated that the situation at the plant is extremely unstable. On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that intelligence had received information that Russia was considering a scenario for a terrorist act at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which would cause a radiation release. He also emphasized that the world has sufficient strength to prevent any radiation incidents and even a radiation catastrophe – action must be taken and pressure must be applied. However, the spokesperson for the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Peskov, called Zelenskyy's statement a lie.

In turn, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expects a clear assessment from the IAEA regarding Russia's criminal actions and has appealed to the international community, including the Group of Seven (G7) and the European Union, to take urgent measures to prevent a nuclear catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

According to the ISW’s report, in the event of a terrorist act at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the Russian occupation forces in Enerhodar will not be able to control its consequences. Presumably, by indicating preparations for sabotage at the plant, the Russians are trying to persuade the Armed Forces of Ukraine to refrain from conducting counteroffensive operations in this area.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has established headquarters for assistance, and rescue teams will conduct training to mitigate the consequences of a possible terrorist attack by Russians at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

The Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, stated that Russia has completed preparations for a terrorist act at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

On June 25, Zelenskyy held talks with Biden, Trudeau, and Duda, noting that "the world is not reacting adequately to the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant."

Energoatom reported that as of 27 June, the situation at the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was under control, with the water level in the cooling pond stable.

On June 29, large-scale exercises were held in four regions of Ukraine to prepare for a possible terrorist attack on the ZNPP.

On June 30, the Main Intelligence Directorate reported that the occupying Russian forces were gradually leaving the ZNPP, and that Ukrainian employees who had signed a contract with Rosatom also received evacuation recommendations. In addition, the plant's staff received an order to blame Ukraine in any emergency situation.

The head of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Russian troops have prepared everything for a man-made disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.