MOSCOW, October 17. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky is openly lying when he blames Russia for allegedly blocking power supplies to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Russian foreign ministry ambassador at large for issues of the Kiev regime’s crimes, Rodion Miroshnik, said.

According to Miroshnik, the situation in Energodar and around the ZNPP is difficult. "The situation is difficult first, because Ukraine keeps on delivering strikes. Zelensky has repeatedly said in a bid to accuse Russia that no power is fed to the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant because of our actions. This is a barefaced lie. In recent months, the Ukrainian side has conducted a series of strikes that actually broke the plant’s connection to power grids both in Russia and in the territory that is still controlled by the Ukrainian side," he said.

The diplomat noted that restoration works at the ZNPP are next to impossible because of Ukraine’s "permanent shelling attacks" around the plant. "So, the state the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant is currently in is fully blamed on Ukraine and the Ukrainian regime pursuing this tactic and strategy toward this nuclear facility," he explained.

He recalled that Ukraine has recently committed acts of nuclear terrorist against at least four nuclear plants. "As a rule, it used drones. But concerning the Zaporozhye nuclear plant, they use other types of weapons to strike some of its divisions. And we have said about this more than once. These facts were reported to the IAEA," Miroshnik added.

The ZNPP has been operating on standby diesel generators for three weeks in a row after its external power supply line were damaged as a result of hostilities. The plant’s last high-voltage 750kW power supply line, known as Dneprovskaya, was damaged after Ukraine’s shelling attack on September 23. Specialists have been failing to repair it amid non-stop attacks. Another line, 330 kW Ferrosplavnaya-1, has stayed switched off since May 7. The damaged section is located on the Dnieper right bank that is controlled by Ukraine. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on October 9 that following its contacts with both Russian and Ukrainian side works to restore external power supplies to the ZNPP had begun.