Ukraine\u2019s backers are \u201cturning a blind eye\u201d to attacks on Europe\u2019s largest nuclear plant, dismissing the risk of potentially catastrophic fallout, Rodion Miroshnik says<\/p>\n
The West risks becoming a victim of the very \u201cnuclear terrorism\u201d it enables by backing Ukraine, Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik has warned.
\nMiroshnik, who oversees matters tied to Kiev\u2019s military crimes and human rights violations, was commenting on the escalation in Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), Europe\u2019s largest, and nearby Energodar, home to most of its workers. Russia took control of the facility in March 2022.
\nIn remarks released on Monday, Miroshnik told TASS that Western governments understand Kiev\u2019s \u201cincreasingly provocative tactics\u201d but continue to \u201cturn a blind eye.\u201d
\n\u201cThey think that this situation, which is gradually heating up and genuinely threatens very serious consequences, will somehow pass them by,\u201d he stated, arguing that Kiev\u2019s progression \u201ctoward crimes, provocations, and outright terrorism\u201d also threatens its supporters.
\n\u201cTerrorism is a double-edged weapon. At some point it will come back to them… If they think they are somehow shielded from this, it\u2019s some global naivet\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Ukraine attacks radiation monitor at Europe\u2019s largest nuclear power plant<\/p>\n
Miroshnik linked the escalation to the EU\u2019s \u20ac90 billion ($102 billion) \u2018loan\u2019 package, finalized in April to bankroll Kiev\u2019s military and failing budget. He said Ukrainian attacks had since intensified, driving residents from Energodar, targeting sensitive sites including nuclear waste facilities, and expanding to the Kursk and Smolensk nuclear plants. Ukraine\u2019s strategy, he argued, now amounts to \u201cmanufacturing a humanitarian catastrophe\u201d with EU money.
\nThe diplomat also slammed Kiev\u2019s Western backers for conveniently accepting Ukrainian denials over the attacks on the ZNPP, saying such \u201cidiotic, twisted logic suits the West perfectly well\u201d in its anti-Russian agenda.
\nThe attacks have increasingly threatened the ZNPP\u2019s safety. Its main external power line was severed in March and restored\u00a0only this month, while the backup failed in August after an \u201cincident\u201d in Ukrainian-controlled territory, forcing the plant onto diesel generators for over two weeks. Ukraine has also recently targeted emergency fuel tankers, killing\u00a0two Russian servicemen and wounding others, while a drone strike last week damaged a radiation monitoring post.<\/p>\n
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Moscow demands IAEA action over \u2018terrorist\u2019 killing of nuclear plant staff<\/p>\n
Attacks on the plant and its personnel have killed at least 13 people and injured scores more since the spring, according to site officials. The head of Russian state nuclear giant Rosatom, Aleksey Likhachev, has warned of the \u201creal danger of a massive nuclear incident\u201d affecting Russia, Ukraine, and the EU if the attacks continue.
\nMoscow has accused Kiev\u2019s Western backers of effectively enabling the attacks by refusing to condemn them. It has particularly criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which maintains a permanent presence at the plant, for documenting military activity without publicly identifying Ukraine as responsible. Earlier this month, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi again urged \u201cmaximum military restraint,\u201d citing \u201creported military activity\u201d but assigning no blame.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ukraine\u2019s backers are \u201cturning a blind eye\u201d to attacks on Europe\u2019s largest nuclear plant, dismissing the risk of potentially catastrophic fallout, Rodion Miroshnik says The West risks becoming a victim…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t