The Ukrainian army assessed on Thursday that “tensions are easing” around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant occupied by Russian forces in southern Ukraine, after several days in which the two camps accused each other of an imminent provocation, AFP and Agerpres reported.
“The tension is gradually decreasing” as a result of the “powerful work” of the Ukrainian army and diplomats, as well as “our foreign partners who are putting pressure” on Russia, said Nataliya Humenyuk, spokeswoman for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the south. in front.
On Tuesday, Kyiv accused Moscow that its troops planted devices similar to explosive devices at the plant and prepared a “provocation” there, while Moscow accused Kyiv of preparing a “subversive action” with catastrophic consequences for the plant.
Responding to Kyiv’s claims about the location of the explosives, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its team at the site did not see “any visible signs of mines or explosives” but asked for additional access to verify given the increased military activity in the area factory
In Russia, they deny the beginning of the evacuation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP
Last week, Ukrainian military intelligence said Russia had begun evacuating its personnel from the Zaporizhzhia plant and that Ukrainian employees at the same plant had been instructed to leave the facility by July 5, which Moscow denied.
“The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is operating normally. I did not give such instructions to the employees. No one is going anywhere,” the Russian state-owned company responsible for the civil nuclear sector, Rosatom, reported on June 30.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the press on Thursday that Russia would respond in the harshest way to any Ukrainian attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Occupied by Russian forces last March, this largest plant in Europe is located in the Ukrainian city of Energodar, not far from the front line and west of one of the directions on which the Ukrainian army is conducting a counteroffensive.
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Source: Hot News
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