Russia allegedly informed workers in Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant Ukrainian military intelligence has exclusively confirmed to NBC News not to show up for work tomorrow.
It comes amid allegations and speculation from both Russia and Ukraine that an accident is being planned on Friday at the plant.
On Thursday, Russia threatened to shut down the nuclear power plant, warning of the presence of… Man-made disaster risk Because of the alleged continuous bombing by Ukraine.
But Ukraine has a completely different story, according to Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
“There is new information, which arrived about half an hour ago, that for tomorrow, August 19, there is a request for the majority of [power plant’s] Mr. Youssef told NBC News.
This is what the Russians told their people, especially the company’s employees [Russian nuclear agency] Rosatom. “
He said this could be evidence that the Russians were preparing for “large-scale provocations” at the power plant on Friday.
We do not exclude the possibility of large-scale Russian provocations on the territory of the ZNPP tomorrow. This is confirmed by their propaganda, information from our sources, and the behavior of the Russians at the station.”
NBC News has reached out to Russia for comment.
Earlier on Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine and what it described as “American workers” of trying to stage a “minor accident” at the factory in southern Ukraine on Friday in order to blame Russia.
She said the timing of the “provocation” coincided with a visit to Ukraine by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday and that it could involve a radioactive leak.
Blame it on trade
Russia seized the Zaporizhia nuclear reactor complex, the largest in Europe, shortly after it invaded Ukraine nearly six months ago and was repeatedly bombed, with Moscow and Kiev sharing the blame.
Russia has repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of recklessly shooting at the plant, while Ukraine says Russia is using the reactor complex as a base to launch attacks on its residents.
NBC News has not verified either side’s allegations.
A senior Ukrainian official told Reuters that the simplest solution to the situation was the withdrawal of Russian forces from the factory, the removal of any munitions stored there, and the removal of mines.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Thursday that Moscow was taking measures to ensure safety at the complex and denied that it had deployed heavy weapons in and around the factory.
But the ministry said an attempt could be made to shut down the station if Ukrainian forces continued to bombard it.
In a briefing, Igor Kirillov, commander of the Russian Defense Forces’ radioactive, chemical and biological defense forces, said that the station’s backup support systems were damaged as a result of the bombing.
Kirillov presented a slide showing that in the event of an accident at the plant, the radioactive material would cover Germany, Poland and Slovakia.
“Alcohol geek. Certified web scholar. Travel aficionado. Subtly charming twitter fanatic.”