Moscow spreads further claims about alleged Ukrainian plans to attack Kursk nuclear power plant

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on August 17 that Ukraine was allegedly planning an attack on Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had denied this claim a day earlier.

The Russian ministry's statement came after several state-controlled Russian media outlets claimed that Ukrainian forces were allegedly planning an attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant as well as the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar in Zaporizhia Oblast.

Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, called these claims “a wave of insane Russian propaganda.”

The Russian Defense Ministry is threatening “immediate, harsh military and military-technical retaliation” in the event of the alleged attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant. Kiev is allegedly planning to blame Russia for the attack.

“We officially deny these false reports. Ukraine has neither the intention nor the ability to carry out such actions. Russia must stop spreading dangerous lies,” the Ukrainian spokesman said on August 16.

Russia had previously claimed that Ukraine was developing a “dirty bomb” by 2022, a device that uses explosives to scatter radioactive waste. After the inspection at Ukraine's request, experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) found no “evidence of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at the sites,” said agency head Rafael Grossi.

“Nothing has changed since then,” Tykhyi said.

“Ukraine has been and remains a committed member of the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty). We do not have any 'dirty bombs' and do not plan to acquire any.”

Andrii Kovalenko, head of the anti-disinformation department at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said Russia “may be preparing a nuclear provocation.”

“Their scenario of accusing us of terrorism and the attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant did not work. Now they are lying,” he wrote on Telegram on August 16.

The Kursk nuclear power plant is located nearly 80 kilometers from the border town of Sudzha in Kursk Oblast, which was captured by Ukrainian forces this week during Kyiv's ongoing invasion of Kursk Oblast. Russian media reported that Russia is preparing to defend the Kursk nuclear power plant as Ukrainian troops approach and has begun building defensive lines near the plant.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Its location near the front line has led to increased nuclear safety risks. throughout the entire war in Russia.

Kyiv blames On August 11, Russian forces set fire to “a large number of tires in cooling towers” of the nuclear power plant in order to “spread panic in the settlements on the right bank of the former reservoir.”

The nuclear safety of the power plant was not compromised, the IAEA said.