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Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to strike Ukrainian nuclear power plants if Ukraine does not cease its alleged attacks on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant.<\/p>\n
He accused the Ukrainian army of firing artillery not directly at Europe’s largest nuclear plant, in the south-east of the country, but at its surroundings.<\/p>\n
The Zaporizhzhya plant was seized by Russian troops shortly after the 2022 invasion. The facility’s six reactors were shut down last year due to ongoing fighting. But it needs electricity to maintain critical safety functions, like cooling its reactors.<\/p>\n
The last high-voltage power line to the Zaporizhzhya plant, which is currently only cooled by electricity from diesel generators, has been out of service since September 23.<\/p>\n
“This is a dangerous game,” Putin said on Thursday at the Valdai political discussion club in Sochi in Crimea.<\/p>\n
The Ukrainians ought to think about their other nuclear power plants, he mused. “What prevents us from reacting symmetrically?” the Russian president asked rhetorically.<\/p>\n
He claimed that accusations from the Ukrainian side that Russia itself is firing on the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant it occupies are nonsense.<\/p>\n
The fighting near the plant means both Russia and Ukraine have been unable to repair the power lines, meaning the cooling system relies on eight diesel generators.<\/p>\n
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed its concern.<\/p>\n