Several drone attacks have targeted the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Russia in southern Ukraine, in recent days. Moscow and kyiv accuse each other of being responsible for these strikes.
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Its six reactors no longer produce electricity, but the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, occupied by the Russians, continues to be a strategic issue. And Moscow and kyiv accuse each other of attacks of which it is the target. Again on Sunday, the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant was targeted by several drones, then again by a device on Monday, according to its administration installed by Moscow. “ Attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant continue “, she indicated on Telegram, evoking “ a kamikaze drone shot down above the power plant ” who is ” fell on the roof » of reactor number 6, without constituting a danger for the installation.
The day before, the Russian atomic agency Rosatom reported that a drone had crashed into the power plant’s canteen, injuring three people, and others on a loading dock and on the roof of one of the reactors.
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L’Ukraine for his part accused the Russia to broadcast “ false » information and assured that it was Russian forces who were themselves attacking with drones the power station they have occupied since March 2022. The head of the Ukrainian center for combating disinformation, Andriï Kovalenko, blamed a “ campaign of provocation and falsification » from Russia aiming to make people believe “ that the threat to the plant and nuclear security comes from Ukraine “. A Ukrainian intelligence spokesperson, Andriï Ioussof, previously accused Moscow of carrying out “ simulated strikes “. “ Ukraine has nothing to do with the slightest armed provocation inside the power plant “, he assured Sunday.
Handling
For Ulrich Bounat, expert in geopolitics and associate researcher at Open Diplomacy, the possibility of manipulation of Russia is to be favored. “ It’s difficult to know, quite honestly, what it is. On the other hand, we can simply question the advisability, for both of them, of carrying out this type of strike, he analyzes. We could possibly lean towards a so-called “false flag” attack, that is to say an attempt to stage the Russian authorities to place the accusation on kyiv, a bit like what we seen this week in Transnistria, where local authorities staged fake drone attacks on two military bases. Whoever did this knew very well that it would not cause any real damage and that it would, on the other hand, cause a fairly significant media shock wave. These two elements taken together point a little more towards Russian responsibility, but it is difficult to say this 100%. »
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a team of experts on the site of the plant, denounced Sunday after the first attack a “ major escalation ” And “ a serious incident that could potentially undermine the integrity of the reactor containment “.
She indicated on X that her experts had “ confirmed the physical impacts of drone attacks at the Zaporizhzhia power plant today, including on one of its six reactors », without attributing them by name to Ukraine.