Ukraine warns Putin plans to simulate nuclear power station accident

Ukraine intelligence warns Putin is planning to simulate major accident at Europe’s biggest nuclear power station in an attempt by Russia to thwart Kyiv’s counteroffensive

• Zaporizhzhia plant IN southern Ukraine is Europe’s biggest nuclear power station
• In  Russian-occupied territory, both sides have blamed each other for shelling
• Claiming radiation leak would force an investigation by international authorities 

Ukraine’s defence ministry claim Russia was planning to simulate a major accident at Europe’s biggest nuclear power station in an attempt to thwart a long-planned Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Russia.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, which lies in an area of Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, is Europe’s biggest nuclear power station and the area has been repeatedly hit by shelling that both sides blame each other for.

The defence ministry’s intelligence directorate said Russian forces would soon shell the plant and then announce a radiation leak. This would force an investigation by international authorities, during which all hostilities would be stopped.

The directorate statement, posted on Telegram, did not provide any proof. It said Russia had disrupted the planned rotation of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, who are based at the plant.

The Vienna-based IAEA, which frequently posts updates on the plant, has made no mention of any disruption.

A Russian serviceman stands guard in an area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in territory under Russian military control, southeastern Ukraine, May 1 2022

Ukrainian armed forces train with explosive weapons in the areas close to the frontline in Zaporizhzhia, April 20 2023. Both sides have accused each other of shelling the power station 

The Zaporizhzhia plant, which lies in an area of Russian-occupied southern Ukraine, is Europe’s biggest nuclear power station and the area has been repeatedly hit by shelling that both sides blame each other for

The defence ministry’s intelligence directorate said Russian forces would soon shell the plant and then announce a radiation leak. This would force an investigation by international authorities, during which all hostilities would be stopped

Last week witnesses said Russian military forces had been enhancing defensive positions in and around the plant ahead of the counter-offensive.

READ MORE: UN warns of threat of ‘severe nuclear accident’ after Putin orders evacuation of town near nuclear power plant captured by Russia in early days of Ukraine invasion 

In October 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the West to warn Russia not to blow up a dam that would flood a large area. The dam was not destroyed.

In February, Russia said Ukraine was planning to stage a nuclear incident on its territory to pin the blame on Moscow.

Russia has repeatedly accused Kyiv of planning ‘false flag’ operations with non-conventional weapons, using biological or radioactive materials. No such attack has materialised.

The UN nuclear watchdog said its chief Rafael Grossi is set to brief the UN Security Council on his proposal to safeguard Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Tuesday.

Grossi, who visited the plant in March, has upped his efforts to reach an agreement with Ukraine and Russia to ensure the plant’s safety.

After failing to reach a deal with both sides to set up a protection zone around the plant, his visit to New York to address the UN security council could indicate that he may have made progress.

A senior European diplomat reacted cautiously when asked about the prospects of securing a last-minute agreement that both parties could sign on to ahead of Kyiv’s possible counteroffensive.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi speaks to media in Zaporizhzhia on September 1 2022 as UN inspectors prepare to head to the Russian-held plant in Ukraine

Last week witnesses said Russian military forces had been enhancing defensive positions in and around the plant ahead of the counter-offensive

A woman removes debris of a residential house destroyed by a Russian military strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in the village of Malokaterynivka, Zaporizhzhia region, May 11 2023

Ukrainian servicemen in Zaporizhzhia region fire a Partyzan multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops near a frontline, May 12

READ MORE: Russia risks catastrophe as power is cut off to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant once more, leaving it to rely on diesel generators to prevent a meltdown

They said it looked ‘unlikely at the moment’ that Russia and Ukraine will agree to the principles outlined in the proposal.

In a press release last week, Grossi said that: ‘It is very simple: don’t shoot at the plant and don’t use the plant as a military base’.

‘It should be in the interest of everyone to agree on a set of principles to protect the plant during the conflict,’ he added.

In March 2023, missile strikes again caused outages, leaving the plant reliant on its diesel generators.

The reserves were vital for cooling reactor fuel and preventing a nuclear meltdown.

In the event of a meltdown, harmful thermal energy and radiation would be released into the atmosphere, carried over borders by the wind. 

While a power plant uses nuclear fission to generate electricity, it cannot explode like an atom bomb. 

The powerplant at Zaporizhzhia is one of the ten biggest in the world and was responsible for nearly half the nuclear output of Ukraine’s four reactors. 

A Ukrainian soldier on a tank performs firing practice at special shooting range near the frontline area amid Russia-Ukraine war, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on March 29

A Ukrainian service member smokes in a trench at a position near the frontline town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, May 23

Ukrainian servicemen fire a 120mm mortar towards Russian positions at the frontline near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Jan 11

Energoatom, who operate the four reactors in Ukraine, warned in August last year that rockets fired back and forth risked a Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster. 

The site has been occupied by Russian forces since the start of the war, and has often been caught up in clashes between opposing forces.

Zaporizhzhia’s power station was knocked offline for the first time since the start of the invasion in late August 2022, reportedly due to shelling. 

The site was forced to fall back on diesel generators.

It was the first time the plant had been disconnected from Ukraine’s national grid in nearly 40 years of operation.

Blackouts continued sporadically as the region became a fixed point of the frontline.

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