More On: Chernobyl
The US warns Russia not to cause a second Chernobyl at the nuclear plant in Ukraine
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On Friday, the Biden administration asked Russia to give up Europe's biggest nuclear power plant and avoid a repeat of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. This is because there are rumors that Moscow is thinking about shelling the plant in a 'false flag' operation.
Since March, Russian troops have been in charge of the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia. Recently, the plant has been used as a base by several Russian artillery units that have been firing constantly on the Ukrainian front lines that are close by.
“We are very concerned about military operations at or near any of Ukraine’s nuclear power facilities,” a senior US defense official said Friday. “We’ve been very clear that fighting near a nuclear power plant is dangerous is irresponsible, and we want the fighters and Russia to operate with extreme caution and conduct no actions that would result in a potential radiological release.”
Earlier on Friday, tensions rose when Russia's state nuclear agency announced an unplanned day off at the plant. This made people worry that Ukrainian fighters would be blamed for a bombing.
Russia and Ukraine have both been blamed for shelling at the facility in the past. In a phone call with French President Emanuel Macron on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin again said that Ukraine was shelling the plant. Putin said that this could cause a "large-scale catastrophe that could lead to radioactive contamination of large areas."
Putin's claim was shot down by a top US military official last week, who said that Kyiv knew all too well what would happen if such an attack happened because of Chernobyl.
“I don’t have any belief that the Ukrainians — who know very well what the impact of hitting that power plant would be — would have an interest in hitting the power plant,” the official said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency last week urged Russia to allow its specialists to inspect the plant for safety following recent shelling and nearby fighting.
“We have been very clear with Russia that we expect Russia to return full control of this plant, to comply with the request by the International Atomic Energy Agency to comply with its technical safeguards and provide access to the plant,” the defense official said.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Monday that Russia would do “everything necessarily” to facilitate the visit “and give a truthful assessment of the Ukrainian side’s destructive actions.”
The US official said Friday that Washington is especially worried about "any reports of damage to the plant's power lines."
"We've all seen how Russia doesn't care at all about keeping Ukraine's nuclear power plants safe," the official said. "We think that what Russia is doing in and around this plant right now is very irresponsible, especially when you think about the responsibilities that come with being a nuclear power."
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