MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. Nuclear technologies in the hands of Vladimir Zelensky’s criminal regime pose a grave threat to international peace and security, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on the Ukrainian army’s attack against the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
The diplomat pointed out that overnight into February 14, news outlets had reported of another provocation staged by the Kiev regime, targeting the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
"We have repeatedly warned that the Kiev regime is preparing such provocations. Unfortunately, our fears turned out to be justified. All this confirms that nuclear technologies in the hands of Zelensky’s criminal regime pose a grave threat to international peace and security," Zakharova pointed out.
She stressed that the provocation was yet another one in a series of steps "by the Banderites, aimed at undermining nuclear safety and security." "The series includes a strike on the cooling tower of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on August 11, 2024, the killing of the access control office chief at the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant on October 4, 2024 (the responsibility for which was claimed by the Ukrainians), an attack on cars carrying Russian service members and IAEA Secretariat personnel during a rotation attempt at the ZNPP on December 10, 2024, the disruption of two rotation attempts at the ZNPP on February 5 and 12 (artillery, mortar and drone attacks were carried out on February 12), as well as the shelling of the Zaporozhye Thermal Power Plant’s distribution system late on February 13," the Russian diplomat specified, adding: "All this can in no way be described as accidents or mistakes."
According to the diplomat, the provocation against the Shelter at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is a continuation of reckless actions by the Kiev regime, which "is well aware of what it is doing." "In the past, Russia took part in international efforts to construct this facility, designed to address the aftermath of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. However, what the Ukrainian armed forces are doing now is undermining those efforts," Zkharova concluded.