Zelenskyy says Russia is considering scenario of terrorist attack on Zaporizhzhia NPP, Kremlin responds

This was stated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

"Now our intelligence has received information that Russia is considering a scenario of a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. A terrorist attack with radiation leakage. They have prepared everything for this," the head of state said.

According to him, radiation can spread anywhere, it depends on the direction of the wind only. 

"We share all available information with our partners – everyone in the world. All the evidence. Europe, America, China, Brazil, India, the Arab world, Africa – all countries, absolutely everyone should know this. International organizations. Absolutely everyone," Zelenskyy said.

He called on the world to act decisively to prevent a terrorist attack, which could have a larger scale than the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP.

The Kremlin's response

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Zelenskyy's statement a lie.

“You know, we have just had contacts with the IAEA on the ground. The IAEA gave a very high assessment... Our dialog and cooperation with the IAEA is ongoing. We are interested in continuing these contacts, and the IAEA is interested. The rest is a lie,” Russian media quoted Peskov.

ZNPP situation 

The Russians took control of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in February 2022. Since then, they have stationed personnel and military equipment there. These invaders keep the equipment in machine rooms and occasionally move it to positions for firing at the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region on the other side of the Kakhovka reservoir.

There is a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring the situation at the plant. Their job is to ensure that the nuclear plant is not used for military purposes, protected from attacks or firing, and receives a continuous supply of electricity. However, power outages frequently happen at the plant. Moreover, the invaders have been bringing explosives to the ZNPP since last year.

In May 2023, it was discovered that the Russians placed explosives in the turbine area of the fourth power unit of the occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. As a result, all the units are now filled with explosives. The occupiers also severely damaged the emergency preparedness and response system at the ZNPP.

On June 22, the Director General of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, visited the ZNPP and stated that the situation there is “extremely fragile”.

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