MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. In September and October, Ukrainian armed forces made four attempts to land troops across the Kakhovka reservoir to take control of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, Chief of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops Lieutenant-General Igor Kirillov said on Monday.
"Despite the visit of the IAEA Director General [Rafael] Grossi, the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not stop making attempts to seize the plant by sabotage. On September 1, 15 and 30, as well as on October 17, special units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine tried to land troops across the Kakhovka reservoir and take control of [Zaporozhye] NPP," he said.
According to Kirillov, since February 24 up to now, Ukrainian troops have shelled the Zaporozhye NPP 39 times. Ten of these attacks were carried out using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), 29 - using various artillery systems.
The Lieutenant-General also noted that the release of radioactive substances as a result of the Ukrainian side’s attacks at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant will affect almost all of Europe, a forecast confirmed by leading European scientific agencies.
The Zaporozhye NPP is the largest nuclear power plant currently operating in Europe. Russia took control of it on February 28, in the early days of the special military operation in Ukraine. The nuclear power plant continued to operate as usual. The Russian side has repeatedly emphasized that there are no combat army units on the plant’s territory. There are only security units of the Russian national guard, specialists of Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops and Rosatom employees, whose presence is required to ensure the nuclear and physical nuclear safety at the plant.