The Russian Defense Ministry denied the deployment of heavy weapons near the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia. “The Russian forces do not have heavy weapons either on the territory of the power plant or in the surrounding areas. There are only guards there,” the ministry said today.
The ministry accused Kyiv of preparing a “provocation” at the nuclear power plant during the visit of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to Ukraine, so that it could accuse Moscow of “causing a man-made disaster”.
The Defense Ministry said Ukraine had deployed its forces in the region and was planning an artillery attack on the nuclear power plant from the city of Nikopol tomorrow, while Guterres was visiting Odessa. “Responsibility for the consequences” should then be transferred to the “Russian Armed Forces”.
Located in southern Ukraine, the nuclear power plant houses six of 15 Ukrainian nuclear reactors. The nuclear power plant has been occupied by the Russian military since last March, and it has been repeatedly bombed since the end of July. Kyiv and Moscow blame each other for the attacks. This raised fears of a nuclear catastrophe at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant.
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