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Ukraine says Russia unable to manage Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant safety

Ukraine says Russia unable to manage Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant safety

Ukraine said on Wednesday that Moscow was incapable of managing the safety at Zaporizhzhia, a Russian-occupied nuclear power station. Russia dismissed these reports as "fake" after they claimed to have heard of reports of an enormous spillage of diesel.

Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, in 2022, Russian forces have been occupying the plant. Both Moscow and Kyiv accuse each other since then of staging attacks, and putting a nuclear accident at risk.

Heorhii Tikhyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, said that there were reports of damage to the diesel reservoir at Zaporizhzhia's nuclear power plant.

He said that "Russians are not only stealing the plant, but they also cannot manage its basic security."

The Russian management at the plant claimed that the Ukrainian reports are "fake".

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has false information about fuel tanks being damaged. The station is safe," said Yuri Chernichuk, the director of the plant appointed by Russia.

Tykhyi didn't give any details about the damage or the source of the reports, but only said that the "direct result" was the Russians replacing licensed Ukrainian experts by Russian staff.

He added that the spilled fuel would have been enough to run the emergency generators at the station for 25 days.

Ukraine claims that Russia's management has caused severe equipment degradation. The station is not currently producing electricity and the only way it can resume operations is if the station was brought back under Ukraine’s control.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated on Tuesday that the plant should not be considered a Ukrainian facility, but rather as one belonging to Russia. It also said Ukrainian control was "impossible".

Donald Trump said that the United States might be able to help Ukraine run its nuclear power plants and even own them. The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy denied that ownership had been discussed.

Tykhyi stated that "the plant must be brought back under Ukrainian control to prevent any further incidents." (Reporting and additional reporting by Yuliia Dyesa; editing by Kirsten Donovan Philippa Fletcher Gareth Jones).

(source: Reuters)