Russia’s accusations are not supported by facts. The international community has called on Russia to withdraw its troops from ZNPP and «stop playing dangerous games» at the Ukrainian nuclear facility.
Since the beginning of April 2024, Russia has intensified its disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Pro-Kremlin media began actively spreading fakes about the Ukrainian army allegedly attacking power units at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with drones. In Russia’s view, Ukraine is thus «blackmailing its curators to get the next tranche».
Russia is the only state in the world that for the first time in human history has not only seized a nuclear facility of another country, but is also militarizing the nuclear power plant, actively using Zaporizhzhia NPP to conduct hostilities against Ukraine.
On April 7, 2024, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported explosions on the territory of the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant «including at one of the site’s six reactor buildings where surveillance and communication equipment appeared to have been targeted. While they [the IAEA staff] were at the roof of the reactor, unit 6, Russian troops engaged what appeared to be an approaching drone. This was followed by an explosion near the reactor building». It is also noted that on April 7, the experts heard other explosions and shooting, as well as several shots of outgoing artillery fire near the plant.
On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, the IAEA again reported the recording of suspected drone attacks on the territory of the Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It is reported that between April 5 and 9, drones attacked the area near the oxygen and nitrogen production plant, the area outside the perimeter of the facility, and the ZNPP training center, which is also located outside the perimeter of the site, about half a kilometer from the first power unit. The IAEA emphasized that on all occasions of the alleged attacks, they requested immediate access to the explosion sites from the Russian occupiers, but the invaders refused to allow independent international experts to visit.
Commenting on the explosions at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the US State Department emphasized that Russia is playing an extremely dangerous game with the seized Ukrainian nuclear facility.
«It’s dangerous that they’ve done that and we continue to call on Russia to withdraw its military and civilian personnel from the plant, to return full control of the plant to the competent Ukrainian authorities, and refrain from taking any actions that could result in a nuclear incident at the plant,» US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller emphasized on April 8.
The head of the European Union’s diplomacy, Josep Borrell, spoke in support of Ukraine. The EU diplomat emphasized that the drone attack on Zaporizhzhia NPP increases the risk of a nuclear accident: «Such attacks must stop. Russia should withdraw from Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,» Borrell said on April 9.
The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (GUR) also blamed the incidents on the Russian side and emphasized that the aggressor state, by conducting hostilities at the continent’s largest nuclear facility, once again endangers the Ukrainian plant, civilians and the environment of the whole of Europe.
«Russian attacks, including its false-flag operations, on the territory of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant are the criminal, and well-known, tactic the occupiers frequently resort to,» said Andriy Yusov, a representative of GUR, in a comment to Ukrayinska Pravda.
Russia is manipulating the opinion of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the international community, trying to accuse Ukraine of violating nuclear safety at Zaporizhzhya NPP, the national Ukrainian operator Energoatom emphasized. The agency once again emphasized that Russia has violated all applicable international law in the field of nuclear safety by occupying Ukraine’s strategic nuclear facility.
Russia is ignoring all calls from the international community to stop hostilities at Ukrainian nuclear facilities. At the same time, the plant is located on the front line and is subject to shelling, the NPP is used by the occupiers as a heavy weapons depot, and after the Russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka HPP, the NPP was left without a stable source of water supply. Russia also does not allow employees of the national operator Energoatom to visit the Ukrainian facility and does not allow IAEA experts to inspect most of the machine rooms and equipment at ZNPP.
Read more in StopFake’s pieces: Fake: IAEA Resolution Gave Ukraine Carte Blanche to Shell ZNPP and Fake: IAEA Is Content with The State of ZNPP under Russian Control.
