(News) Russia: Ukrainian nationalists tried to cause fire at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe

[Askor lml]

The Russian Defense Ministry assures that the provocation "demonstrates the criminal intention" of Kiev or "the complete loss of control of President Zelensky over the actions of Ukrainian sabotage groups with foreign mercenaries."

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported this Friday that units of Ukrainian nationalists tried to set fire to the Zaporizhia plant, the largest in Europe, located in the city of Energodar.  The plant, the territory near it and the city are under the control of Russian troops.

 

 "At night, the Kiev regime made an attempt to carry out a monstrous provocation in the territory adjacent to the nuclear power plant," Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov sai

 

 The spokesman explained that Russian soldiers were patrolling in the protected area near the plant, when they were attacked by a sabotage group.  Nationalists fired on the Russian military from the training building outside the plant.  The Russian patrol then destroyed the fire emplacements in the building.  "As he left the training building, a group of Ukrainian saboteurs set it on fire," Konashenkov sai

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Fire crews who arrived at the scene managed to extinguish the flames. According to the Russian Defense portfolio, no member of the plant's staff was inside the affected facility at the time of the provocation.

 

 "Currently, the staff of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant continues to work normally, maintaining its facilities and monitoring the radioactive situation. The radioactive background around the plant is normal," the spokesman said.

 

 Konashenkov also referred to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's statements about the threat to the plant, as well as his conversations on the subject with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden. "The goal of the Kiev regime's provocation at the nuclear facility is to try to accuse Russia of creating a source of radioactive contamination," he said.

 

 "All this demonstrates the criminal intent of the Kiev regime or Zelensky's complete loss of control over the actions of Ukrainian sabotage groups with foreign mercenaries," he stressed.

Hours earlier, the State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation of Ukraine confirmed the seizure of the plant and specified that its personnel continue to work there.

 On Thursday night, a fire broke out in the training building, outside the territory of the plant, amid combat actions between the Russian and Ukrainian military. In the live broadcast broadcast by the nuclear power plant, the fall and ricochet of projectiles was observed in what appeared to be the parking area of the facilities.

 Subsequently, the Emergency Service of Ukraine reported the extinction of the flames and specified that no victims or injuries were reported. They also clarified that only one of the six blocks is operational, the fourth.

 Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported, citing the Ukrainian regulator, that no changes were reported in radiation levels at the plant, nor was "essential equipment" at the plant affected. However, the international organization put its Incident and Emergency Center in full response mode to deal with a possible worsening of the situation.

 The operation in figures

 Regarding the course of the operation, the spokesman reported that a total of 1,812 Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities were destroyed since the beginning of the military operation in the country.

 

 Among the targets hit are 65 command posts and communication nodes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 56 S-300, Buk-M1 and Osa air defense missile systems, as well as 59 radar stations.

 

 At the same time, Konashénkov reported that a total of 49 ground-based aircraft have been destroyed, along with 13 in the air, as well as 635 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 67 multiple rocket launchers, 252 field artillery pieces and mortars, in addition to 442 special military vehicles and 54 drones.

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