Russia threatens to stop the operation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP if "Ukraine does not stop shelling the plant."
"We draw your attention to the fact that if the situation related to the shelling of the nuclear plant by Ukraine continues to deteriorate, the question of switching the 5th and 6th power units to the "cold reserve" may be considered, which will lead to the shutdown of the Zaporizhzhia NPP," the official said at the briefing of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The representative of the Russiaʼs Ministry of Defense Igor Konashenkov accused Ukraine of allegedly preparing a provocation at the nuclear power plant during the period when UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will be in Ukraine.
Konashenkov stated that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are allegedly planning to launch artillery strikes on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP on August 19, in order to later blame Russia for this.
The provocation, the Ministry of Defense stated, "consists in the leakage of radiation, the destruction of the integrity of the nuclear waste repository and the bringing of the NPP reactor into a state of extreme operation."
"Given the establishment of facts of almost continuous provocative shelling of the Zaporizhzhia NPP by occupation forces, the report about provocations by the Defense Forces of Ukraine does not correspond to reality and is outright disinformation," the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation stressed.
- On August 5, 6, 11, and 13, Russian troops shelled the territory of the ZNPP and its facilities. One of the stationʼs engineers said that Rosatom employees are correcting the occupantsʼ fire at the NPP. They tell the military where to shoot so that it is "loud but not painful."
- Ukrainian diplomats, politicians and scientists demand that the IAEA, the UN and the world community send a security mission to the NPP and achieve the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the plant and the occupied Energodar. Scientists separately warned that the actions of Russian troops could lead to a disaster on the level of Chornobyl or Fukushima.
- On August 11, UN Secretary General António Guterres called for the creation of a safe perimeter around the ZNPP and the cessation of any military operations around it. He insists on the complete withdrawal of military personnel and equipment, followed by a moratorium on the placement of troops at the ZNPP. The USA supported this idea, but Russia was against it.
- On August 14, the European Union and 42 countries issued a joint statement calling on Russia to immediately withdraw its troops from the Zaporizhzhia NPP and the entire territory of Ukraine.
- Separately, the UN stated that they are ready to help the IAEA visit the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The Secretary General held a conversation with the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation.