MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Any potential operation to blow up a storage facility containing spent nuclear fuel in Kharkov would cause radioactive contamination, if not lead to something even more disastrous, a Russian nuclear expert told TASS on Thursday.

In an interview, Alexander Uvarov, director of the Atominfo-Center, an autonomous non-profit organization, and editor-in-chief of atominfo.ru, referred to the Institute of Physics and Technology in the northeast Ukrainian city, where he said there used to be radioactive materials.

Commenting on a potential false flag operation against the facility, the expert warned, "Since that is not a nuclear power plant, there may not be any disastrous consequences, but, depending on how a potential explosion plays out, a certain amount of radioactive material may be released and even form a small contamination zone."

Kiev may be plotting to stage a false flag operation in which a spent nuclear fuel depot in Kharkov would be blown up so as to then pin the blame on Moscow, a source familiar with Ukrainian plans told TASS earlier on Thursday.