According to Ukraine, the alleged plan is imminent and aims to force a ceasefire in the region, one of the main focuses of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
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The Ukrainian Defense Ministry on Friday denounced what it says is a plan by the Russian authorities, who are about to stage a nuclear incident at the Zaporizhia plant and blame Ukraine.
Cited by Sky News, the ministry says that its information services discovered the alleged plan, which could be imminent, in the plant occupied by Russian forces since the start of the invasion, in March 2022.
‼️ The Russians are preparing a massive provocation and imitation of the accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the next few hours.
They are planning to attack the territory of the ZNPP. After that, they will announce the leak of the radioactive substances. pic.twitter.com/Vk6hRDD26v— Ukrainian Defense Intelligence (@DI_Ukraine) May 26, 2023
The kyiv Defense maintains that the plan aims to force a ceasefire in the region, seen as one of the main focuses of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“Their aim is to provoke the international community and force a detailed investigation that would require a ceasefire,” the ministry says. “The Russians will use this very convenient respite to regroup the occupation personnel and stop the Ukrainian counteroffensive.”.
The ministry also adds that the Kremlin will have “sabotaged” one of the staff rotations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is currently carrying out a follow-up operation at the nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe – this despite the agency, which frequently shares updates on the status of activities at the center, not having reported anomalies in the normal operation of its mission.
Under Russian administration for more than a year, the area has been regularly hit by gunfire and bombs, with both sides of the conflict trading back and forth accusations. In February, Russia itself made a similar accusation against kyiv.claiming that the Ukrainians were preparing to stage a nuclear incident on their territory (which did not happen).
The Kremlin, moreover, has repeatedly accused Ukraine of planning “false flag” operations, and even of using radioactive or biological weapons.
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Source: Observadora
