Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company says it appears that Russia is preparing to stage a terrorist act at the occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant using radioactive waste and nuclear materials.
Energoatom, which operates Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants, said this week that Russian troops have carried out construction projects at Zaporizhzhia and refused to allow Ukrainian staff or observers from the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency at the sites.
Energoatom officials said 174 containers of spent nuclear fuel are stored at the plant.
“The destruction of these containers as a result of detonation will lead to a radiation accident and radiation contamination of several hundred square kilometers of the surrounding area,” the agency said on the Telegram social messaging site.