Medvedev admits possibility of strikes on nuclear power plants of Ukraine and NATO states

The deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitriy Medvedev, has issued new threats against Ukraine and NATO countries after the Russian side reported an alleged drone attack on the occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. The occasion was the statements by the head of Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev, about damage to the engine room of power unit No 6 of the plant.

According to the Russian side, the drone strike damaged one of the infrastructure facilities of Zaporizhzhya NPP, which is under Russian occupation.

Medvedev's statements

Against this background, Medvedev stated that potential strikes on the nuclear power industry could lead to consequences on the level of the Chernobyl disaster. He also voiced threats against Ukraine and NATO countries.

According to him, the response to such incidents could be:

• symmetrical strikes on Ukrainian nuclear power plants;
• strikes on nuclear power plants of NATO countries, which, he claimed, are involved in the conflict.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry rejected the statements by the Russian side, calling them an information operation on the eve of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting. The ministry stressed that there was no logic in the accusations as Ukraine was not interested in strikes on its own nuclear infrastructure.

The Ukrainian side said that the real threat to the safety of the nuclear power plant was its occupation and restricted access of international inspectors. The Ukrainian Defence Forces and the National Security and Defence Council also denied the accusations, calling them an attempt to divert attention from Russia's actions around the plant.