Russia accuses West of preparing provocation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused on Thursday Ukraine and Britain of preparing a provocation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, alleging the plot is designed to falsely blame Moscow.

In a statement, the SVR claimed that European NATO members are seeking to use this act of sabotage to alter the negative course of the conflict in Ukraine for Western interests.

According to the agency, the scenario involves the melting of nuclear reactor cores, and it was developed by the British think tank the Chatham House.

"Influential British non-profit organization Chatham House has already calculated the consequences of such an incident. Special computer simulations conducted specifically showed that, taking into account wind patterns and air mass movement, radioactive particles would spread over residents of Kyiv-controlled areas and EU countries near Ukraine's western border," the service said.

According to the SVR, Chatham House considers the most challenging aspect of implementing such a plan to be determining how exactly responsibility for the catastrophe should be placed on Russia.

In connection with this, Chatham House intends to prepare advance arguments in case of any developments, the intelligence service said, adding: "It is planned to ensure media coverage of the situation in such a way that the Western public clearly takes Kyiv's side regarding who is guilty."

The SVR emphasized that even on issues important to broad audiences concerning nuclear safety, "totalitarian-liberal elites" act according to long-established "anti-human templates."

"Collectively, the West is again ready to deceive and even kill Ukrainians and citizens of Western countries in order to attribute crimes committed by the Kyiv regime to Russia and justify its Russophobic policy and efforts to escalate the war," it said.