The Kremlin warned Wednesday that Kyiv could be preparing a provocation at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.
“The situation is quite tense because the threat of sabotage from the Kyiv regime is really high, sabotage that could have catastrophic consequences,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Russia was planning “dangerous provocations” at the plant, the largest in Europe.
Russia and Ukraine have regularly accused each other of putting the plant’s safety at risk since the Kremlin launched its invasion last year.
“The Kyiv regime has repeatedly demonstrated its readiness to not rule anything out. Most recently, we saw this during the explosion of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, also with horrific consequences,” Peskov said.
Kyiv and its allies say Moscow’s forces last month destroyed the Russia-controlled Kakhovka dam, flooding huge swathes of the southern Kherson region, leaving dozens dead and forcing thousands to evacuate.
An advisor to Russia’s Rosatom nuclear agency, Renat Karchaa, accused Kyiv earlier this week of planning an attack against the plant on the night of July 5.