Medvedev has called claims of Russian involvement in the shelling “nonsense.”
(Photo: IMAGO/SNA)
Berlin The dispute over the security situation in the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia escalated. The Russian Deputy Secretary of the Security Council and former President Dmitry Medvedev blamed the West for the precarious situation, while at the same time indirectly threatening attacks on EU power plants.
Medvedev wrote on the social channel Telegram: “Ukraine and the West claimed that the attacks on the Zaporizhia NPP were mere coincidence. It’s as if that wasn’t intentional… Let’s not forget that there are nuclear power plants in the European Union too. And accidents are possible there too.”
He claimed that by shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Ukraine wanted to bring about “a new Chernobyl”. Medvedev dismissed allegations of Russian involvement in the shelling of the reactors, calling them “nonsense”. In the past few months, Medvedev has repeatedly drawn attention to himself with his martial threats to the West.
The shelling of the facility was discussed in the UN Security Council on Thursday evening, and the emergency meeting was initiated by Russia. The kiln is manned by Russian soldiers but operated by Ukrainian workers. Challenging situations keep coming up. On Friday morning, the regional administration of Zaporizhia announced that a shell had landed just ten meters from the nuclear fuel storage facility.
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Peter Kotin, head of the power plant operator Energoatom, accused the Russian army on Friday of deliberately destroying systems and, above all, lines in the nuclear power plant. For Kotin it is clear that Moscow is driven by economic interests. The Russians had long toyed with the idea of diverting electricity from this power plant to occupied Crimea. “To do this, the power plant must be completely disconnected from the Ukrainian energy system and connected to the lines connecting Crimea.”
But Kotin warns against uncontrolled chain reactions. Ukraine and Russia now have different frequencies in the power lines, which could lead to a serious accident when connecting to Russian lines without disconnecting from the Ukrainian grid.
Situation at the nuclear power plant “extremely critical”
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), called the situation in Europe’s largest nuclear power plant “extremely critical”. After being shelled several times, one reactor had already been shut down, he explained when he joined the Security Council meeting in New York. “This is a grave hour, a grave hour. The IAEA must be allowed to carry out its mission in Zaporizhia as soon as possible,” Grossi demanded. International inspectors would have to be allowed into the occupied power plant immediately.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Sergei Kislitsa said in New York: “Six months ago it was hard to imagine that the largest nuclear facility in Europe would be taken over by a military attack, it was hard to imagine that it would be crammed with soldiers and weapons .”
>> Read here: The most dangerous nuclear power plant in the world – the reactors of Zaporizhia are becoming more and more of a security risk
Bonnie Jenkins, US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control, accused Moscow of “continuously spreading false reports to distract from reality”. Russia’s claim that Ukraine is responsible for the devastating situation at the nuclear plant “completely distorts reality. In fact, Russia is illegally on the site.”
More: Concerns about Zaporizhia nuclear power plant are growing – Russia is ready for inspection