MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) is carrying out acts of sabotage and terrorism targeting employees of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and continuing attacks on its satellite city of Energodar, the head of Russia’s radiation, chemical and biological protection troops, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov.

“Meanwhile, attacks on industrial facilities and the satellite city of Energodar, where the plant’s staff are located, continue. The Security Service of Ukraine conducts sabotage and terrorist activities, including against ZNPP and local officials. Residents of the city live under psychological pressure, and threats have been made against the families of factory employees who live in the territories controlled by Kiev,” he said.

He recalled that the bombing attacks on the nuclear power plant by Ukrainian troops were of little concern to the global community because experts at the University of Cambridge believed that the risks of contamination were “relatively low”.

“But the forecast of the radiation situation made by our specialists, later confirmed by European sectoral organizations, showed that radioactive emissions in the event of an accident would affect practically all of Europe. Only after this, and following the deployment of IAEA experts in the plant, did the bombing attacks on it practically stop,” he emphasized.

According to Kirillov, Ukrainian troops conducted 49 artillery and drone attacks on Zaporozhye NPP facilities in 2022. The attacks targeted nuclear reactors, nuclear fuel and waste storage facilities, as well as other critical infrastructure. The plant was disconnected from external power sources five times after these attacks, which posed the risk of a man-made disaster.