President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 22 that based on intelligence reports, Russia is considering a terrorist attack at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant through radiation leakage.
“Russia uses the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as an element in its aggression. It occupies the plant. It uses it to cover the shelling of neighboring cities. It keeps weapons and troops there,” the president said.
“Now our intelligence has received information that Russia is considering a scenario of a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. A terrorist attack with radiation leakage. They have prepared everything for this.”
Zelensky reminded that the potential radiation leakage would not be limited to Ukraine and that Russia demonstrated a willingness to conduct terrorist attacks with the destruction of the Kakhovka dam on June 6.
The Zaporizhzhia station, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, has been occupied by Russia since March 2022. During regular Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure, the plant was fully disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid several times.
In June this year, the plant's stability was put at risk by the draining of the Kakhovka reservoir, which the plant uses as a water source, especially for the ponds that cool the reactors. The situation prompted a monitoring mission by the International Atomic Energy Agency's chief Rafael Grossi.
On June 20, Ukraine’s military intelligence warned of a threat of an explosion or an accident at the plant as the Russian forces have additionally mined the station's cooler.
Stephen Zhao
(Updated: )
