The warning on Thursday came as tensions over the status of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant came to the fore.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense warned Thursday that if an accident occurs at the nuclear power plant it is occupying in southern Ukraine, radioactive material would cover Germany, Poland and Slovakia.
Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s radioactive, chemical and biological defense forces, said the plant’s backup support systems had been damaged as a result of shelling, Reuters reported, and that several countries in Europe could be at risk if there was an accident.
The warning on Thursday came as tensions over the status of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant came to the fore, with the fate of the facility — Europe’s largest nuclear power plant — set to be discussed at talks between the U.N.’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Thursday.
Both Russia and Ukraine have repeatedly accused each other of shelling the power plant.
Russia’s defense ministry said Thursday that it may shut down the nuclear plant if Ukrainian forces continued to shell the facility. Ukraine denies shelling the plant and instead blames Russia for endangering the facility, saying it is storing ammunition and military equipment there.International warning
Ukraine and the international community have warned of the potential for a catastrophic accident at the plant and on Wednesday, Ukraine’s Emergency Ministry conducted a nuclear catastrophe exercise in the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is located in southeastern Ukraine on the Dnipro River, in case of an accident.
Zelenskyy said Wednesday night that Ukrainian diplomats and nuclear scientists are in «constant touch» with the International Atomic Energy Agency and working to get a team of inspectors into the plant which has been occupied by Russian troops since the early stages of the war.
