Ukraine uses nuclear power plants for ammunition storage
2023.01.23 14:32
Ukraine uses nuclear power plants for ammunition storage
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – A senior Ukrainian official dismissed Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR)’s Monday claim that Ukraine stored Western-supplied weapons at nuclear power stations across the country as untrue.
Reuters was unable to verify the claims because the Russian spy agency failed to provide any evidence.
According to a statement from the SVR, the Rivne nuclear power station in northwest Ukraine has received HIMARS rocket launchers, air defense systems, and artillery ammunition from the United States.
It stated that “the Ukrainian armed forces are storing weapons and ammunition provided by the West on the territory of nuclear power plants,” and that an arms shipment had been made to the Rivne power station in the final week of December.
When questioned about the report on Monday, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, stated that the assertions demonstrated the significance of maintaining communication with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations.
Peskov, on the other hand, stated that there were no current plans for a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi.
An advisor to Ukraine’s President Volodomyr Zelenskiy, Mykhailo Podolyak, stated that his nation has never stored weapons in nuclear power plants (NPPs).
“Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service has falsely claimed that Ukraine has never stored weapons on NPP territory. On the contrary, “he stated on Twitter that the Russian Federation seized the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia and maintains its military there.”
Podolyak stated that “Russian lies are aimed to justify their provocations” and that Ukraine remained “open to inspecting bodies, including the IAEA.”
Since the conflict began, attention has been paid to the numerous nuclear power plants in Ukraine. The defunct Chornobyl nuclear power plant was taken over by Russian forces less than 48 hours after troops invaded and also took the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Zaporizhzhia, early in the war.
Moscow and Kiev have both claimed that they shelled Zaporizhzhia. Russia, according to Ukraine, is using the location as a de facto weapons depot.
Threatening a nuclear catastrophe, the IAEA has voiced grave concerns regarding attacks in the vicinity of the plant.
