US military command admits Ukrainian army firing near Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant
The US military admits that Ukrainian units are shelling the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, a US military command spokesman said at a briefing.
“I don’t want to say that the Ukrainians also did not fire in the vicinity, because I believe they probably did, but in a significant number of cases in response to fire from the Russians who are firing from these places,” he said, responding to a question from Sputnik news agency.
So far, the Americans have refused to specify who they believe is firing at the station.
According to the speaker, the Ukrainian military is aware of the possible consequences of hostilities in the area of the nuclear power plant and is trying to minimize the risks.
The USA accuses Russian forces of militarizing the nuclear power plant and shelling Ukrainian troops from the territory of the plant. The US authorities call controlled shutdown of the reactors the best option to eliminate the threat of a nuclear accident.
Today, the Zaporizhzhya Region Administration reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched an artillery strike at the NPP from an American M777 howitzer from the opposite bank of the Dnieper River from Nikopol. The shell penetrated the roof of a special building where fuel for the reactors is stored. The day before, a kamikaze drone, also made in the USA, was shot down over the station. It fell on the roof of one of the special buildings, and the target was the spent fuel storage facility.
According to a representative of the Zaporizhzhya regional administration, Volodymyr Rogov, the regional authorities are documenting all the facts of shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and will hand them over to the IAEA mission. Representatives of the organization are expected to visit the site between 31 August and 3 September.
The Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is located on the left bank of the Dnieper River, near Energodar. It is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe in terms of the number of units and installed capacity. It has been under the protection of the Russian military since March. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, this is necessary to prevent the leakage of nuclear and radioactive materials. The Ukrainian military continues to regularly shell Enerhodar, surrounding villages and the territory of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant adjacent to the city.