Alleged Russian shelling sparked a fire at Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant – the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (Image: Twitter/@Podolyak_M)
The Russian Defense Ministry said it was an attempt to blame the Russians if an environmental hazard emerged from the experimental nuclear reactor.
Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of attacking an experimental nuclear reactor in Kharkiv and of using it to make false allegations against Russia, Russian news agency TASS reported.
The Russian Defense Ministry accused the Ukrainian army and the Azov battalion of planning to blow up a reactor at the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology’s National Research Center. The Russian Defense Ministry said it would be accompanied by allegations that the Russians were behind the act.
In a statement accessed by Russia’s TASS news agency, the defense ministry said Ukraine’s “nationalist” forces had planted a mine in the area. “Nationalists mined a reactor in an experimental nuclear system located at the National Research Center of the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology. Terrorists of the Ukrainian Army and the Azov Battalion are planning to blow up the reactor,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a release. and accusing the Russian armed forces of launching a missile attack on an experimental nuclear system.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian news agency Kyiv Independent quoted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as saying that Russian forces have restricted access to external communications, accessing mobile networks and the Internet at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant since March 6. has been blocked. It further states that all operations plant employees require approval by the Russian commander present at the station.
Allegations and accusations were exchanged last week when Russian shelling caused a fire in an area outside the perimeter of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack was carried out by Ukrainian saboteurs, who intended to use the incident as a “dangerous provocation”. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of posing a threat to Europe’s security when a fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. Local officials present at the plant, however, clarified that the hostilities did not damage essential equipment and the fire was brought under control.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations are expected to meet on Monday for a third round of discussions in an effort to bring peace to the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would seek to achieve his objectives in Ukraine “through war or through dialogue”, raising concerns that hostilities may not end soon.
read all breaking news, today’s fresh news And Assembly Election Live Updates Here.