DISINFO: Kyiv is preparing a "dirty bomb" near Zaporizhzhia and Kursk nuclear power plants
SUMMARY
Several sources have reported that Kyiv is preparing a nuclear provocation, namely the detonation of "dirty bombs" near the storage sites of Russian nuclear power plants. The Zaporizhzhia and Kursk nuclear power plants are under threat. There are plans by Kyiv to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about nuclear threats in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the evolving events of the Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk oblast in August 2024.
There is no evidence to back the claim that Ukraine is preparing to attack either the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant or the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). As Russia continues to intimidate the world with the prospect of strikes on Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, these accusations against Ukraine are intended to cover-up the Kremlin’s nuclear blackmail against Ukraine and the West. These include threats to use tactical nuclear weapons and preparations for a deliberate nuclear catastrophe at the Russian-controlled ZNPP or the NPP in Kursk.
It is not Ukraine, but Russia that has not only seized another country's nuclear facility but is also militarising a nuclear power plant, actively using the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. In April, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell stressed that the drone attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant increases the risk of a nuclear accident and that Russia should withdraw from there.
Russia has adopted many reckless actions regarding this facility in Zaporizhzhia, including placing military equipment and troops inside its premises, using its surroundings as a base for rocket and missile attacks, and interrupting its power line. In addition, Russia rejected UN proposals to demilitarise the areas surrounding the plant, as it was deliberately waging a fear campaign about the risks of a nuclear disaster in order to advance its goals in Ukraine.
See similar disinformation cases claiming that Ukraine attacks Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to blackmail Europe with a new Chernobyl; that the Zaporizhzhia NPP was heavily attacked with drones by the Kyiv regime; that the US wants to prepare the world for a provocation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP; and that Zelenskyy being pushed to attack the Zaporizhzhia NPP.