Russian news agencies have once again accused Ukraine of planning a "nuclear provocation," this time targeting the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in southwestern Russia and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine.
The allegations were reported on Friday night by state news agency RIA Novosti, citing unnamed sources within Russian law enforcement.
According to the reports, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) allegedly planned to use "charges with radioactive warheads" to attack the nuclear plants and intended to blame Russia for the incident.
RIA Novosti further claimed that Western states, particularly the UK, were "overseeing" the supposed attack on the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia nuclear facilities.
Russian pro-war blogger Marat Khairullin also alleged that the AFU was planning to use a "dirty bomb" to strike nuclear fuel storage sites.
This is the 11th time that Russian state media has accused Ukraine of planning a "nuclear provocation" since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion, as noted by the independent media outlet Agentstvo.
Ukrainian officials have strongly denied the accusations, labeling them as baseless propaganda.
“We officially refute these false claims. Ukraine has no intention or ability to take any such actions. Russia must stop spreading dangerous lies,” Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, stated on X.
Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, suggested that Russia might be projecting its own intentions onto Ukraine, hinting that Moscow could be planning a "nuclear provocation" itself. Kovalenko noted that previous attempts by Russia to accuse Ukraine of nuclear terrorism had failed to gain traction.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have escalated further in recent weeks, with both countries accusing each other of "terrorism" following a fire at a cooling tower in the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
As Ukrainian forces continued their incursion into Russian territory, Moscow reported finding missile fragments near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant and accused Kyiv of engaging in "reckless actions."
An unnamed Ukrainian official, speaking to AFP, stated that Ukrainian troops would not compromise nuclear security in the Kursk region but did not clarify if occupying the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant was a specific objective of the ongoing operation.
