Ukraine accuses Russia of about to cause radiation leak at nuclear plant

Ukraine's president has accused Russia of preparing to cause a radioactive leak at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, but Moscow has denied this.

"Intelligence agencies have received information that Russia is considering a scenario of causing a radioactive leak at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. They have prepared everything for this action," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Telegram post today.

The Ukrainian president did not say what evidence the country's intelligence agency relied on to make the claim, one of the most serious allegations yet about nuclear safety at the plant.

"Unfortunately, I have had to remind everyone many times that radiation does not respect national borders. The target of the attack depends only on the wind direction," Mr. Zelensky added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev on June 16. Photo: AFP

Russia controls about 73% of Zaporizhzhia, one of the four regions Moscow annexed in September 2022, and is also home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The Russian military took control of the plant in March 2022, but the facility is still operated by Ukrainian technicians.

Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the area around the plant. Concerns were heightened after the Kakhovka dam that supplies cooling water to the facility collapsed earlier this month.

Mr Zelensky's statement came two days after the head of Ukraine's military intelligence accused Russia of planting mines in the cooling water reservoir area of the reactors at the Zaporizhzhia plant.

The Kremlin denied Mr Zelensky's accusations, saying a team of inspectors from the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had recently visited the facility.

"Another lie. IAEA representatives visited the plant and assessed its safety. They saw everything they wanted to see," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

While still part of the Soviet Union, Ukraine suffered the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986, when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded, spreading radioactive clouds across Europe.

Location of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia province. Graphic: BBC

Huyen Le (According to AFP , Reuters )

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