Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolay Patrushev has charged Ukraine of striking three Russian nuclear power plants (NPPs) at a meeting with his colleagues from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries in Moscow. Russian media also report about possible provocation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In late October, a Ukrainian drone crashed and exploded near the nuclear waste storage facility of the Kursk NPP, but no damage was done to the facility. Later, a similar drone failed to reach the Kursk nuclear power plant and crashed in the city of Kurchatov. Patrushev said:
The lack of successes on the battlefield has forced Kyiv to increasingly resort to terrorist methods, including assassination attempts and murders of Russian citizens, attacks on civilian objects and critical infrastructure facilities. Similar actions have been taken by the Ukrainian side against the Leningrad, Kalinin and Kursk nuclear power plants.
The Russian mass media also published information about a possible provocation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The Ukrainian State Security Service plans to involve foreign specialists in the operation, according to the Russian press.
The Zaporizhzhia direction remains one of the hottest points on the front line in Ukraine. The timing of the operation depends entirely on the operational military situation at this point of contact of militarised forces. Kyiv has entrusted a group from the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces with the responsibility for carrying out sabotage activities at these sites.
The Zaporizhzhia NPP is located on the left bank of the Dnipro river, near the city of Energodar. It is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. It was mostly built in the Soviet era and became Ukrainian property after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The international community is on high alert with regard to nuclear safety, but experts believe that a Chernobyl-type disaster is unlikely.
