MOSCOW/KYIV (Reuters) -Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine attacked the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for a third day with a drone but Ukrainian officials denied that Kyiv had anything to do with the attacks.
Ukraine has denied it is behind a series of drone attacks on the plant over the past three days, including three drone attacks on Sunday, which the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said had endangered nuclear safety.
“The unique training centre of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was attacked,” the Russian-controlled plant said in a statement.
The drone fell on the roof of the training centre, it said. No one was injured.
The Kremlin has said the drone attacks on the nuclear plant were carried out by Ukraine and said they were very dangerous with extremely grave potential consequences.
Ukrainian military intelligence said Kyiv does not take part in action against nuclear facilities.
“Ukraine’s position is clear and unequivocal– we do not commit any military actions or provocations on nuclear facilities,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence, said on national TV.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry drove the point home, saying Russia was “the only source of threats” to the Zaporizhzhia plant.
“Russia is the only terrorist state in the world that has not only seized, militarised and is trying to hijack a nuclear power plant, but also uses it as a platform for propaganda,” the ministry statement said.
RIA state news agency said the drone attack on the training centre happened just 10 minutes after representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency mission passed by.
An extraordinary meeting of the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors called by Russia to discuss attacks on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine is due to be held on Thursday, four diplomats said.
(Reporting by Reuters; eiting by Guy Faulconbridge, Tomasz Janowski, Ron Popeski and Sandra Maler)
