IAEA issues results of probe into Kiev’s claim mines were laid at nuclear plant
Specialists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have found no signs of any mines at Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the UN agency said in a statement on Wednesday, following an inspection carried out by its staff at the site.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky alleged that Moscow wanted to cause a “radiation leak” at the plant. A key aide to Volodymyr Zelensky, Mikhail Podoliak, also accused the Russian military of laying mines at the plant’s cooling pond.
Moscow has rejected these claims as “yet another lie.” The UN nuclear watchdog previously denied the claims about mines in the cooling pond as well.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin warned about a “high threat of sabotage” at the plant in Kiev. Such an action could lead to “catastrophic” results, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that the situation around ZNPP remains “tense.”
The experts checked some parts of the facility, including “sections of the perimeter of the large cooling pond,” over the past days and weeks, the statement said, adding that they also “conducted regular walkdowns across the site.”
So far, no “visible indications of mines or explosives” have been observed, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in the statement. The agency’s team requested additional access to certain parts of the facility, including the rooftops of reactor units 3 and 4, as well as turbine halls and cooling system facilities, he added.
UPDATE ON JULY, 4, 2023
Moscow: “Kiev will try to attack the nuclear power plant on the night of July 5”
“In the early hours of July 5, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will try to attack the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant using high-precision long-range means and unmanned kamikaze aircraft”. The adviser to the director general of Rosenergoatom, the Russian atomic agency, Renat Karchaa, told the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
“Today we received information that I am authorized to talk about…” he said further Karchaa. As a backup plan, Kiev also intends to use Tochka-U missile, loaded with radioactive waste removed from the South-Ukraine NPP on July 3, he added.
«Over the past months, Kiev has repeatedly targeted the nuclear facility – which is the biggest NPP in Europe – risking a major nuclear disaster» according to Russian network Sputnik International..
The nuclear power plant, located on the left bank of the Dnepr River, came under the control of Russian forces in early March 2022 and has since been repeatedly shelled by Ukrainian forces, raising international concerns over a possible accident.
“The rhetoric around the plant escalated in recent weeks, with the top Ukrainian official repeatedly claiming Moscow had been preparing a nuclear incident at the ZNPP. President Vladimir Zelensky, for instance, said Moscow wanted to cause a “radiation leakage” at the plant, while his aide Mikhail Podoliak accused Russia of placing mines in the plant’s cooling pond» Russia Today wrote.
Instead, according to the General Staff of the armed forces of Kiev, Moscow has placed bombs on the roof of the third and fourth reactors which are not intended to damage them, but can simulate a bombing by Ukraine.
“Today foreign objects resembling explosive devices were placed on the outer roof of the third and fourth reactors of the Zaporizhzhia power plant. Their detonation is not intended to harm them, but may create the image of a bombing by Ukraine. This is what Russian media and telegram channels are spreading falsely,” reads the Kyiv Armed Forces report.
ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON JUNE, 25, 2023
With its counteroffensive failing, Kiev may cause a nuclear disaster to draw NATO into war with Russia, Dmitry Polyanskiy said
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky could stage a false-flag attack at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in order to provoke NATO intervention, Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, warned on Friday.
Polyanskiy said on Twitter that Russia had “just drawn attention to these plans of [the] Kiev regime during the UN Security Council meeting” that morning. “The whole of Europe may be easily sacrificed by Ze and his blind Russophobic sponsors,” he added. “Don’t tell us we didn’t warn you!”
Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP)
Zelensky’s “plan” – according to some pro-Russian commentators – would involve causing a nuclear accident at the ZNPP facility, which has been under Russian control since the early days of the special military operation in Ukraine. According to this theory, Kiev would then blame the ensuing disaster on Russia, leading NATO to openly declare war on Russia in response.
This exact scenario was mapped out by US Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal on Thursday. The two lawmakers proposed a resolution under which the US would consider a meltdown at the plant as an act of war against NATO, due to the fact that Poland would be affected by radioactive fallout. Russia’s ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov, cautioned that the “crazy” resolution could be laying the groundwork for such a false-flag incident.
Zelensky claimed on Thursday that Russia is preparing a “terrorist act”at the ZNPP, adding that “radiation knows no borders” and “who it hits” will depend on the “direction of the wind.”
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukraine of shelling the ZNPP, with Moscow’s permanent ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, demanding on multiple occasions that the UN Security Council order Kiev to cease firing on the plant. Ukrainian forces also made several attempts to retake the plant by crossing the Dnieper River last year, and allegedly attacked it with explosives-laden drones on Friday morning.
Launched at the beginning of this month, Ukraine’s counteroffensive has cost Kiev 13,000 troops so far, without netting any significant territorial gains, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. With American and Western officials reportedly displeased, Mikhail Podoliak, a senior aide to Zelensky, blamed the offensive’s failure on the West’s apparent hesitance to give Kiev all of the heavy weapons it asked for in recent months.
Chinese diplomat: “Zaporozhye NPP safety depends on political resolution of Ukraine crisis”
A situation with the safety of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) depends on the political settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday.
“Safety and security guarantees at the Zaporozhye NPP are one of the aspects of the crisis in Ukraine. Their settlement directly depends on the prospects for a political resolution of the Ukrainian crisis,” she said speaking at a news briefing.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning
Mao Ning added that the parties to the conflict should come up with favorable conditions for the resumption of the dialogue and the proper resolution of related issues, including the safety of nuclear power plants.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on June 24 that Moscow warned the Kiev regime and its Western sponsors against creating serious accidents at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant. Russia also urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its leadership to take advantage of the agency’s expert presence at the site to record all attacks carried out by Ukraine, Zakharova added.
The most Important Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant
The Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, located in the city of Energodar, has a capacity of about 6 GW and is Europe’s largest. It has been controlled by Russian troops since late February 2022. Since then, Ukrainian army units have periodically shelled both residential areas in Energodar and the premises of the NPP itself, using drones, heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems.
Un pensiero su “UPDATE: “Looming Attack on Zaporozhye. Zelensky may Cause a Nuclear Disaster” Moscow has Forecast”