The Kremlin accused Kyiv forces on Monday of being responsible for the bombing of the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine and Europe and warned of “catastrophic consequences” for Europe.
The bombardment of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant site “by the Ukrainian armed forces” is “potentially extremely dangerous” and “could have catastrophic consequences for a wide area, including European territory”, the porter told the press. -spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov.
Russia “expects countries that have influence over the Ukrainian leadership to use their influence to prevent such bombings from continuing,” he added.
The Zaporizhia power plant, located in southern Ukraine and controlled by Russian forces, has been the target of two bombardments in recent days which have affected some of its facilities.
Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of these strikes.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that the latest strike, overnight from Saturday to Sunday, damaged a high-voltage line supplying electricity to two Ukrainian regions.
He also reported a “surge” in the plant which caused smoke to emanate from a switchgear, an installation aimed at protecting and controlling electrical equipment.
“The firefighters who arrived on the spot succeeded in clearing the smoke,” added the Russian ministry.
According to the same source, “the power of reactors 5 and 6 of the nuclear power plant has been reduced to 500 MW in order to prevent the interruption of operations”.
This is not the first time that the situation in the Zaporizhia power plant has raised concerns.
During their assault that led to the capture of the Zaporizhia power plant in March, the Russian military opened fire on administrative buildings on the site, raising fears of a major nuclear accident.
And last month, Russia accused Ukrainian forces of using drones on the territory of this nuclear power plant.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stressed on Monday that “any attack on nuclear power plants is a suicidal thing.”