(Reuters) – Russia’s foreign intelligence service (SVR) on Monday accused Ukraine of storing Western-supplied weapons at nuclear power plants across the country, a Ukrainian official said. dismissed as not being true.
The Russian spy agency did not provide any evidence, and Reuters was unable to verify the allegations.
US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, air defense systems and artillery shells have been delivered to the Rivne nuclear power plant in northwestern Ukraine, according to a SVR statement.
“The Ukrainian army keeps weapons and ammunition provided by the West on the premises of the nuclear power plant,” he said, adding that the arms shipment to the Rivne power plant took place in the last week of December.
Asked about Monday’s report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the allegations showed the importance of maintaining dialogue with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
However, Peskov said there are currently no plans for a meeting between IAEA Director Rafael Grossi and President Vladimir Putin.
Mikhail Podlyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky, said Ukraine has never used a nuclear power plant (NPP) to store weapons.
“Ukraine has never stored weapons on the territory of the NPP, as the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service falsely claimed. I am,” he said on Twitter.
Podryak said Ukraine remains “open to inspection bodies, including the IAEA,” and that “Russia’s lies are aimed at justifying their provocations.”
A number of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants have been in the spotlight since the conflict began. Russian forces seized the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant less than 48 hours after the army invaded, and also captured Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhia, early in the war.
Kyiv and Moscow accuse each other of shelling Zaporizhia. Ukraine also says Russia is using the site as a de facto arsenal.
The IAEA has warned of the danger of a nuclear disaster and expressed serious concern over attacks near factories.
Reported by Reuters Editing by Gareth Jones and David Goodman
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