Ukraine and Russia blame each other for new attacks on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant

Ukraine y Moscow They accused each other on Saturday of having attacked the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, occupied by Moscow troops and the subject of repeated fighting for a week.

“Reduce your presence on the streets of Energodar! We have received news of new provocations by the occupiers” Russians, explained on Telegram the ukrainian nuclear agencyEnergoatom, which published a message from a local leader in the city of Energodar (controlled by kyiv) near which Zaporizhia is located.

“According to the testimonies of the inhabitants, there are new bombardments in the direction of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant (…) The interval between the departure and the fall of the shots is 3 to 5 seconds,” they add in the message.

For its part, the occupation authorities installed by Russia in the southern areas of Ukraine accused kyiv of being behind the attacks.

“Energodar and the nuclear power plant of Zaporizhia they are under fire from militants (of President Volodymyr) Zelensky,” Vladimir Rogov, a member of the pro-Russian military and civil administration, told Telegram.

The shells fell “in areas located on the banks of the Dnieper and in the central”, Rogov said, leaving no casualties or damage.

Since last week, both countries have accused each other of being responsible for the bombing of the Zaporizhia plant, which raises fears of a nuclear catastrophe.

The first attack, which took place on August 5, damaged a high-voltage electrical transformer, which caused the automatic shutdown of reactor No. 3 of the largest plant in Europe.

The latest bombings date from this Thursday and caused damage to a pumping station and radiation sensors.

The Ukrainian authorities, with the support of their allies among the Western powers, are calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from the area and for it to be demilitarized, in the face of which Zelensky describes as “Russian nuclear blackmail”.

kg