The Joint Forces Operation Headquarters has denied Russian claims of an alleged Ukrainian Armed Forces strike on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
31 May 18:12
Claims by Russian occupiers regarding alleged strikes by Ukrainian forces on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in the occupied city of Energodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, are information provocations and do not correspond to reality, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Following yesterday’s fake news about a ‘strike on the ZNPP’s 6th power unit,’ Russian propaganda is spreading a new report about an alleged ‘second strike by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 24 hours,’ this time on the ZNPP’s transport workshop, which supposedly destroyed six buses and two cars. In reality, these statements are an information provocation by the enemy. Ukraine is not conducting any combat operations on the territory of the nuclear facility and strictly adheres to the norms of international law,” the CPD’s Telegram channel reported on Sunday.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of the CPD, emphasized that the allegations spread by the enemy have nothing to do with reality. “The Russians continue to churn out fake news about an attack on the Zaporizhzhia NPP. From the very beginning, this has been a blatant lie, because it makes no sense for Ukraine to attack its own nuclear power plant, which the Russians occupied in 2022 and regularly use for information provocations. That is why this is another Russian ploy, a rather cheap one at that. Russia’s goal in churning out such fake news may be quite simple—to justify the further terror they are planning. Unfortunately, the threat of shelling has not been lifted,” he emphasized.
The Center for Public Diplomacy emphasized that for years, Russia has been creating fakes about “Ukrainian strikes” on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as part of preparing the informational groundwork for possible provocations by Russia itself at the nuclear facility, for which the Kremlin is trying in advance to preemptively shift the blame onto Ukraine.
“Systematic manipulation surrounding the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is part of the policy of nuclear terrorism that Russia is carrying out against Ukraine and the entire world,” the Center noted.
As reported, on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine firmly rejected the Russian Federation’s accusations regarding an alleged “Ukrainian attack” on the ZNPP, which were disseminated on May 30 by representatives of the Russian state corporation “Rosatom.”
“We view these statements as yet another information operation by the occupying state, aimed at diverting the international community’s attention from the only real source of nuclear danger at the Zaporizhzhia NPP—the illegal Russian occupation of the plant. As always, the Russian accusations lack logic: it is unclear for what purpose Ukraine would strike its own nuclear power plant, located on its own territory, which it seeks to return to its sovereign control,” the statement reads.
The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine stated that IAEA experts stationed at the ZNPP as part of the Agency’s permanent monitoring mission must verify the information circulating about alleged damage caused by a drone to the machine hall of power unit No. 6 of the occupied plant and report the results of the verification. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate noted that all current abnormal events and threats to nuclear and radiation safety at the Zaporizhzhia NPP are a consequence of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine and the occupation of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
