Ukraine's western friends should ask Kyiv to protect Zaporozhye nuclear plant: Russian embassy to UK

The Russian embassy in the UK has asked Ukraine's "western sponsors" to stop blaming Russia over attacks on the Zaporozhye (Zaporizhzhia) nuclear power plant in Ukraine and put pressure on Kyiv to ensure that the plant is secured, Russia's state-run TASS news agency has reported.

The Zaporozhye nuclear plant is the largest in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world.

"Armed provocations by the Kiev regime against Europe’s largest nuclear power plant are reprehensible and unjustifiable. They should be considered what they are - acts of nuclear terrorism that gravely imperil the lives of millions of people in Ukraine and across the European continent," the embassy said in a statement posted on its website.

"Instead of continuing to play the blame game Kiev’s Western sponsors need to unequivocally condemn the reckless actions of their Ukrainian clients and send clear public signals that commit Kiev to ensure the physical security and uninterrupted operations of the Zaporozhye NPP."

"The Russian Federation categorically rejects repeated and unfounded accusations that have found their way into UK media regarding Russia’s alleged culpability for the tensions around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The speculations that Russia bears responsibility for the NPP shelling are even more absurd in light of the presence of Russian servicemen at the power plant," the embassy added.

The Zaporozhye plant has a capacity of around 6,000 megawatt and generates a fourth of Ukraine’s electricity.

Since 1996, the plant has been part of Ukraine’s Energoatom generating company.

In March, control over the nuclear plant came over to Russian forces. According to the TASS report, the plant is currently operating at 70 per cent of its capacity due to the oversupply of electricity on the liberated territories of the Zaporozhye region.