Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday that a Russian drone struck built coverage to contain radiation at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, adding that the radiation levels were normal.
Russia denied the accusation of Zelenskiy, saying that the assertion of the Ukrainian president that a Russian drone had struck the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was a “provocation” directed by Kyiv to blackmail the West to give it more help.
Zelenskiy had declared that a drone had caused significant damage to the refuge to confine radiation to the factory, but that the levels of radiation remained normal after the incident, which came as a speaker in the United States , Ukrainian and European gathered at the Munich security conference to discuss the war in Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova accused Zelenskiy of orchestrating the alleged drone attack to coincide with the Munich event as part of a lobbying effort to ensure more weapons and money from the West.
“There was never any doubt that Zelenskiy would not come to the Munich conference empty […] The hands of the kyiv regime must always be occupied with rattles for children to distract the attention of participants in the conference. Zelenskiy travels with performances supported by provocations, “Zakharova told a press conference in Moscow.
“Is there a doubt in the minds of anyone who is a provocation? There is no doubt. A performance was necessary to put pressure on for arms deliveries and convince the public. to use nuclear power plants for “blackmail”.
The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia had launched 133 drones over the country overnight – including attack drones – targeting regions of the northern country where the Chernobyl power plant is located.
“Last night, a Russian attack drone with a highly explosive warhead struck the coverage protecting the world from radiation to the 4th unit of destroyed power of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant,” said Zelenskiy in a social media position.
The comments intervened a few hours before Zelenskiy met the American vice-president JD Vance in Germany to exhibit the case of Ukraine before a new American administration wishing to end the almost three years war.
The attack is proof that Russian President Vladimir “Putin certainly does not prepare for negotiations – he is preparing to continue to deceive the world,” said Zelenskiy.
Video surveillance images published by the Ukrainian leader have shown an explosion on the side of the structure of Chernobyl in images that were holders at 02:02 (0002 GMT).
The Kremlin rejected that its army targeted the Ukrainian nuclear structures.
“There is no question of any strike on such nuclear infrastructure sites. Any claims that this was the case do not correspond to reality. The russian military dues not do this,” kremlin spokesperson dmitry peskov Said on Friday, after stating that he Did not have “exact information” on the spot reported on Chernobyl.
Zelenskiy’s video has also shown a small fire and a hole in the roof, and firefighters using a pipe to turn off the fire from the inside of the dome.
He said the drone had stolen at an altitude of 85 meters (yards), too low to be detected by radar.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also reported an “explosion” on the site and said that “the radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable”.
The agency, which deployed a team in Chernobyl since the first stadiums of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, published images apparently showing the fire drone after having crashed in the cover.
The IAEA has repeatedly warned the dangers of fighting nuclear power plants after the large -scale military offensive in Russia in Ukraine in February 2022.
