Ukraine on Saturday accused Russia of planning an attack on Kiev’s nuclear energy critical objects before winter and called on all international organisations and states to prevent this situation. In a statement, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Tsibiha called on the world to prevent Russian scenarios involving an attack on nuclear energy facilities in Ukraine. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Kremlin is preparing an attack on Ukrainian nuclear energy critical objects before winter. In particular, this concerns open distribution equipment at (nuclear power plants and) transmission substations, Foreign Minister Andriy Tsibiha wrote on X.
Sibiha said damage to these facilities could pose a high risk to nuclear facilities that could have global consequences. Our special services have passed on those data to our partners. We call on all international organizations and states that respect the UN Charter to stop the terrorist state. It is worth noting that Russia has been conducting an aerial bombing campaign on Ukraine’s power grid since the autumn of 2022 after invading the country earlier that year. It has damaged or destroyed most of Ukraine’s thermal power generation capacity and occasionally attacked dams, but has not yet attacked any Ukraine-controlled nuclear facilities.
Ukraine has previously accused Russia of nuclear blackmail when Russian forces seized control of Europe’s largest Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in early March 2022. Both sides have regularly accused each other of shelling areas next to the plant, which has at times cut power lines to the plant, raising the possibility of blackouts that could lead to a nuclear accident.
❗️ Ukraine’s Foreign Minister @andrii_sybiha has called on the world to prevent Russian scenarios involving strikes on nuclear power facilities in Ukraine. It concerns open distribution devices at NPPs & transmission substations, critical for the safe operation of nuclear energy. pic.twitter.com/Be0nVBBzJT
— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) September 21, 2024
