of plotting ‘false flag’ attack on nuclear power plant

Kyiv denies Moscow claim which comes ahead of talks between the leaders of Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations

Russia on Thursday accused Ukraine of planning a “false flag” attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant ahead of a meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Turkey and the UN Secretary General.

Igor Konashenkov, Russian defence spokesman, claimed the staged “provocation” of a “minor accident” would take place on Friday at the Russian-occupied plant, which Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other of shelling.

“Russia will be blamed for the man-made catastrophe,” he claimed before Ukraine’s president met with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the UN’s Antonio Guterres in Lviv, near the border with Poland.

Ukraine, the victim of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion, has steadfastly denied that it’s targeting the plant in the south of the country.  

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor complex, the largest in Europe, was captured by Russian forces soon after tens of thousands of troops invaded on Feb 24. It is still being run by Ukrainian technicians.

Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, the commander of the Russian military’s radiological protection forces, said the plant’s backup support systems had been damaged as a result of “reckless” Ukrainian shelling, which risked damaging its cooling system.

He presented a slide, showing that in the event of an accident at the plant, radioactive material would cover Germany, Poland and Slovakia.

Moscow has denied deploying heavy weapons in and around it. It has threatened to shut it down if Ukrainian forces continued to shell it, which would cause blackouts. 

Ukraine says Russia is deliberately using the plant as a base to launch attacks against its forces and Russian troops have struck it themselves to blame Ukraine for any subsequent power cuts.

“Russia is worried about the possibility of a disaster at the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant),” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Mr Zelensky, said.

“There is a solution. You just need to take the (munitions) out of the halls, demine the buildings, release the plant’s personnel from cells, stop shelling (the southern city of) Nikopol from (the plant’s) territory and leave the station. It’s simple, isn’t it?"

Mr Zelensky called on Russia to leave the plant and for the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA) to get involved in the crisis. Russia has rejected the demand.

“Only absolute transparency and control of the situation at and around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant for the Ukrainian state, for the international community, and for the IAEA, can guarantee a gradual return to normal nuclear safety,” he said.

Mr Guterres has called for a halt to all fighting near the plant, which has raised the spectre of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine.

Mr Erdogan is making his first trip to Ukraine since the war started. The three leaders will discuss the situation around the Zaporizhzhia plant.