Kyiv: Ukraine on Saturday accused Russia of planning strikes on Kyiv's nuclear energy critical objects ahead of winter and called on all international organisations and states to prevent the scenario. In a statement, Ukraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha called on the world to prevent Russian scenarios involving strikes on nuclear power facilities in Ukraine.
"According to Ukrainian intelligence, Kremlin is preparing strikes on Ukrainian nuclear energy critical objects ahead of winter. In particular, it concerns open distribution devices at (nuclear power plants and) transmission substations, critical for the safe operation of nuclear energy," Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha wrote on X.
Sybiha said damage to these facilities can create a high risk of a nuclear facilities that can have global consequences. "Our special services have passed those data to our partners. The IAEA was also informed... Ukrainian #PeaceFormula has a provision for ensuring radiological & nuclear safety. We call on all international org's & states that respect the UN Charter to prevent terrorist state's scenarios," he said on X.
Will Russia target nuclear facilities?
Russia has been waging an aerial bombardment campaign on Ukraine's power grid since autumn 2022 after invading the country earlier that year. It has damaged or destroyed most of Ukraine's thermal power generating capacity and has sometimes hit dams, but has not yet struck any Ukrainian-controlled nuclear facilities.
Ukraine has previously accused Russia of nuclear blackmail after Russian forces occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, in March 2022, early on in the invasion. Both sides have regularly accused each other of shelling areas next to the plant, which has on several occasions cut power lines to the plant, increasing the chance of a blackout that could cause a nuclear accident.
However, Russia, the world's largest nuclear power, is also in the process of revising its nuclear doctrine - the circumstances in which Moscow would use nuclear weapons - and Putin is being pressed by an influential foreign policy hawk to change it to state Russia's willingness to use nuclear arms against countries that "support NATO aggression in Ukraine."
Zelenskyy's 'victory plan'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has prepared a 'victory plan' which he is yet to disclose, planning to present it to US President Joe Biden and to address a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday. Russia has dismissed the plan. Zelenskyy said the plan depends on quick decisions being taken by his Western allies this year.
Zelenskyy will attend sessions of the UN Security Council and General Assembly and also plans to meet US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in separate meetings on September 26. Zelenskyy also said he hoped to meet Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump next week
At a critical juncture in the war, Zelenskiy is seeking to strengthen Ukraine with more weapons, and military, economic, and diplomatic support from the United States, Kyiv's key ally. He is expected to push Washington to lift restrictions on long-range missile strikes inside Russia. Russian forces continue to advance slowly but steadily in eastern Ukraine despite Kyiv's troops launching a surprise incursion last month into Russia's Kursk region.
(with inputs from agencies)
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