(Reuters) – Ukraine accused Moscow of being incapable of managing safety at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after what it called reports of a huge spillage of diesel.
Russia has occupied the plant since the early days of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of staging attacks and risking a nuclear incident.
“We have received reports of diesel reservoir damage at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on X.
“The spilled fuel was enough to power the station’s emergency generators for 25 days.”
He did not give the origin of the reports or say when or how the damage had come about, saying only that it was “a direct result of Russia’s reckless replacement” of licensed Ukrainian experts with Russian staff.
“Russians not only stole the plant, but they are unable to manage its basic safety,” he said.
There were no immediate Russian reports on Wednesday about a diesel spill at the plant.
Ukraine says Russia’s management of the station, that is currently not producing electricity, has led to severe degradation of equipment and that the station could only renew operations if its brought back under Ukraine’s control.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday the plant should be treated as a Russian facility and said Ukrainian control of it is “impossible”.
President Donald Trump suggested the United States could help run and possibly own Ukraine’s nuclear power plants. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the ownership has not been discussed and ruled out such a possibility.
“(The plant) must be returned to Ukrainian control; this is the only way to prevent further incidents,” Tykhyi said.
(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Philippa Fletcher)
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