Ukrainian drone targets ZNPP spent nuclear fuel storage facility
3 Min Read
The Russian security forces warn that damage to nuclear fuel containers can cause a nuclear catastrophe and death of people.
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Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting with graduates of Higher military schools at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia on June 21, 2023. (AFP)
Russian security forces revealed to Sputnik that Ukrainian militants attempted to attack Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant’s (ZNPP) spent nuclear fuel storage facility on Wednesday with a drone, confirming that the attack was thwarted.
Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian drone moving toward ZNPP was intercepted in Enerhodar, the Russian forces confirmed.
"The analysis of the course of the drone showed that the attack drone was moving towards the spent nuclear fuel storage facility on the territory of the ZNPP. Damage to nuclear fuel containers can cause a nuclear catastrophe and death of people," the security forces said.
Russia promises to respond to NATO threats in Poland, Finland
As part of rising threats, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned against the multiplying threats alongside Russia's border with Poland and Finland and vowed to respond adequately to the military risks.
"Threats to the military security of the Russian Federation have multiplied in the western and northwestern strategic directions," Shoigu said at a meeting with military officials.
The official stressed that the risks will be dealt with in a timely manner, adding that military officials "will discuss the necessary measures to neutralize them at the meeting and make the appropriate decisions."
The top defense official singled out Poland, which he said is being militarized and puppeteered by the United States as its "main instrument of anti-Russian politics."
The Polish government announced on Wednesday that it would transfer an additional 2,000 troops to its eastern border, doubling the current force alongside its border with Russia's ally Belarus.
Warsaw claims that the move comes in response to the increased presence of dissolved Wagner PMC combatants in Belarus, which followed a failed armed mutiny of the group resulting in their expulsion to Minsk.
Shoigu warned that the Polish soldiers would be in "the immediate vicinity of the borders of the Union State," referring to an alliance between Moscow and Minsk.
He also brought to attention that Warsaw has sketched plans to establish a Polish-Ukrainian union for the subsequent occupation of Western Ukraine.
"Moreover, there are plans to create a regular Polish-Ukrainian union allegedly for ensuring the security of Western Ukraine, but in fact for the subsequent occupation of this territory," he said.
The Defense Minister also pointed to the "serious destabilizing factor," which is the continued eastward expansion of NATO that represented Finland's accession to the North Atlantic alliance.
He also pointed to Sweden's expected succession into the military group, which further piles up Western threats against Moscow.
NATO's expansion alongside Russia's borders and its involvement in Ukraine is a key factor that triggered the Special Military Operation in Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly warned against the stationing of troops on its borders since including new members will worsen security in the region.
Read more: West deploys 360,000 soldiers near borders of Russia, Belarus: Shoigu
