Zelensky: Kremlin May Soon Carry Out a 'New Evil'

Says Russia placed explosives on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant; Russia says Ukraine will attack plant
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 5, 2023 8:11 AM CDT

On Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelensky wished the United States a happy Independence Day and offered thanks for supporting Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion. Later in the day, however, the Ukrainian president delivered a more ominous-sounding message, alleging that, per Ukrainian intelligence, Russian forces had positioned "objects resembling explosives" on the roofs of certain facilities at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, Europe's largest nuclear facility, per the Hill. In his nightly address, Zelensky noted this was being done "perhaps to simulate an attack on the plant"—meaning, an attack meant to insinuate that Ukraine had gone after its own power plant, which has been under Russian control since the beginning of the war.

Indeed, the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based nonprofit think tank, tells Newsweek that Russia "is likely focused on accusing Ukraine of irresponsible actions around the [Zaporizhzhia plant], including setting conditions for a possible false flag attack." Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Rosenergoatom, which manages Russia's nuclear power program, told Russian TV on Tuesday that Ukraine planned on attacking the Zaporizhzhia plant overnight on Wednesday, "with the use of high-precision long-range weapons," including a "high-precision rocket with a warhead stuffed with radioactive waste," per Tass.

In a Tuesday statement cited by the Guardian, Ukraine's armed forces said that "operational data" relayed that the alleged explosive devices had been placed on top of the power plant's third and fourth reactors, with an attack potentially coming "in the near future." "If detonated, they would not damage the reactors but would create an image of shelling from the Ukrainian side," the group's statement noted. The Guardian notes that no evidence has been provided by Karchaa, Zelensky, or the Ukrainian military for their allegations.

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Sources tell Sky News that some Russian troops have been pulled in recent days from the plant, while scores of Ukrainians have been seen apparently fleeing the country into Moldova. Zelensky's statement warned not to fall for any Russian machinations. "The world sees—can't but see—that the only source of danger to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is Russia and no one else," he said. "This may incite the Kremlin to commit new evil. It is the responsibility of everyone in the world to stop it." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

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