Russia's Foreign Ministry has issued a warning to attendees of the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania, urging them to address the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Moscow claims that a significant number of NATO members would be directly affected by any potential incident at the facility.
Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, accused Ukraine of deliberately causing damage to the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility, which is currently under Russian control in southeastern Ukraine. She emphasized the summit's need to prioritize this issue due to the potential widespread impact of any disaster.
This warning follows recent accusations exchanged between Ukraine and Russia, with each side blaming the other for planning an attack on the plant. Ukrainian intelligence reported a withdrawal of Russian troops from the area surrounding the facility, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed concerns about Russia potentially orchestrating a localized explosion to incite global fear and disrupt military operations.
Despite these claims, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has stated that its experts, granted access to the Zaporizhzhia plant, have not found any visible evidence of mines or explosives. The IAEA's Director General, Rafael Mariano Grossi, released this statement on July 7th.
The NATO summit, scheduled for July 11-12 in Vilnius, Lithuania, will bring together world leaders, including President Biden. The summit's agenda includes discussions on Sweden's potential membership in NATO and continued support for Ukraine. The Zaporizhzhia plant is approximately 620 miles from the summit's location.
President Biden's decision to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine has faced criticism from some U.S. allies. He has also expressed reservations about granting Ukraine immediate NATO membership, citing concerns about escalating the conflict with Russia.
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy, citing intelligence, alleged that Russian forces had positioned objects resembling explosives on top of several power units at the Zaporizhzhia plant, potentially as part of a false flag operation. The Ukrainian armed forces reported these "foreign objects" were placed on the roof of the plant’s third and fourth power units.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the situation at the plant as "quite tense" and accused Kyiv of planning an attack.
The U.N. atomic watchdog has issued repeated warnings about the potential for a radiation disaster similar to Chernobyl in 1986. The Zaporizhzhia plant has been subjected to shelling multiple times since the war began, leading to regular power outages that have hampered safe operations. All six reactors at the plant have been shut down to mitigate risks.
