Russia has accused Ukraine of
‘nuclear terrorism’ over allegedly shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear
power plant and risking a Chernobyl-style catastrophe in Europe.
The little-seen Russian Defence
Minister, Sergei Shoigu, said that Ukraine was ‘creating a real
threat of nuclear catastrophe’ and using Western-supplied weapons to attack the
plant.
Shoigu also rejected
assertions by Kyiv and the West that Russia had deployed heavy
weapons at Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant, located in southern Ukraine
and under Russian control since March.
‘We do not have heavy weapons
on the territory of the nuclear power plant or in the surrounding areas. I hope
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission will be convinced of
this,’ Shoigu said in remarks published by the defense ministry.
Ukraine has accused Russia of
shelling their positions from guns placed next to the nuclear reactors, and
using them as a hostage to shield them from counter-battery fire.
Shoigu on Friday doubled down
on Moscow’s insistence that Kyiv would carry the responsibility for any
escalation at the site.
