According to the Russian defense ministry’s daily briefing on Saturday, Ukrainian forces made an attempt to seize control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station during a Friday night attack on the facility.
At around 11 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Friday, a Ukrainian naval force of more than 250 troops made an attempt to land on the shore of a lake close to the Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station was the target of a new attempt by the Kyiv regime to seize control, according to the military ministry, despite the presence of IAEA representatives.
Russia said that its forces stopped the raid with strikes from fighter jets and military helicopters that destroyed 20 Ukrainian vessels, sent others swarming, and forced the action to be called off.
In recent months, the power plant, which is the largest nuclear energy facility in Europe, has been the target of complaints from Kyiv and Moscow.
Despite being connected to the Ukrainian power grid and still being run by Ukrainian employees, the plant was taken over by Russian forces in March.
Concerns that an escalation could lead to a nuclear accident on the European continent akin to Chornobyl prompted the IAEA to dispatch a mission to the nuclear plant this week.
Both Russia and Ukraine have stated that the situation is serious and there is a high possibility of a nuclear disaster. Russia is allegedly using the location as a base for heavy weapons in an effort to dissuade Ukraine from attacking it, according to Ukraine and the West.
On Friday, Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister, denied that Russia had heavy weapons at or near the power station and charged Ukraine with “nuclear terrorism” for its attacks on the structure. View More
The situation inside the factory was peaceful on Saturday morning, according to a spokesperson of the Russian-installed government in occupied Zaporizhzhia.
