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KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that Ukraine is preparing an attack on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Russian-held territory. This fuels fears of disaster as each side accuses the other of possible sabotage at the facility, which is controlled by Moscow’s armed forces.
Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have increasingly warned in recent days that Russia has planted explosives around the power plant’s nuclear reactors and mined its cooling pools.
“The danger of sabotage by the Kiev regime is high,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed on Wednesday, without providing any justification for his claim. Such sabotage could have “catastrophic” consequences, Peskov said.
Ukrainian officials said the likelihood of an accidental release of radiation under the Zaporizhia Plan has increased since the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, an act Kiev has blamed on Russian forces.
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Russia denied destroying the dam, which is located on Russian-held territory and was under Moscow control at the time of its collapse.
Peskov on Wednesday blamed Kiev for the destruction of the dam, but Russia has not presented any evidence or explained how Ukraine could have committed such an act. The destruction of the dam below the nuclear power plant resulted in catastrophic flooding and drained the water supply needed to cool the reactors and spent nuclear fuel.
Peskov also claimed that Russian forces took action to counter a threat to the power plant from Ukraine.
“The situation is quite tense,” said Peskow. “The Kiev regime has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness not to hesitate to take action; most recently in the bomb attack on the Kachowka hydroelectric power station, also with terrible consequences.”
Ukraine says Putin is planning a nuclear disaster. These people live nearby.
Due to fighting in the vicinity, there were several bottlenecks in the nuclear power plant.
The Institute for the Study of War said in an analysis published on Tuesday that while both had stepped up their rhetoric, it was “unlikely” that Moscow would bring about a nuclear catastrophe.
The institute said provocative statements – and possibly provocative actions – were intended as propaganda to accuse Ukraine of irresponsible behavior near the power plant ahead of an upcoming NATO summit.
Russian forces took control of the nuclear power plant and dam soon after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Abbakumova reported from Riga, Latvia.
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